Wings of Fate
by Wolf of the Sun
Summary: A young girl is pulled from her world to go fight with the Warriors of Light. Will she have the strength to face her past and win her future?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello to all! This is actually my first story to be published on fanfiction. I have several others in the works (including this one) and look forward to writing them. This Dissidia story is being written in honor of the North American release of the game! (Sorry that it is a few days late). I am in the middle of playing the game and have played a few FF before this one (FFX, FFXII, and part of FF advaced tactics). If any of the characters seem OOC, it's because I haven't played their particular game. I'm sorry!**

**I look forward to your support with my writing. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dissidia Final Fantasy or any of it's characters (although sometimes I wish I did).  
**

Wings of Fate

Chapter 1

"Kai!!" I turned as my friend, Jade, ran towards the tree I was lounging under. Her long black hair trailed wildly after her as she came closer. She skidded to a halt and practically landed on me as she sat.

"What's your rush?" I questioned tossing aside the book I was reading. She turned and looked me straight in the eyes. A good two minutes passed and still she said nothing. I furrowed my eyebrows in annoyance and started to fidget.

"Did you cut your hair?" She finally asked. I almost fell over in surprise. I thought it was going to be a little more important than that.

"Yeah," I said reaching for the back of my neck. The once covered area was now clear of any hair. "I said to the stylist, 'I want it short. Do what you want to it and make it good.'" The stylist did not disappoint. She cut my hair up to the hair line and let is swoop down to a little above my jaw in front. The layers in the back were so short that they stuck out in odd angles, just the way I liked it. Jade smiled her funny, toothy grin.

"I love it! I bet the guys will too since you can now see your awesome piercings." The guys I hung out with often complained that I had these piercings, but could never see them because of the cut of my hair. My left ear held two silver ring earrings and my right held a silver ring and a couple dot earrings in different shapes.

"They're not that impressive." Jade made a tutting noise.

"There you go all modest again." We laughed as the people walking by us stared in a confused way. Jade started to kick my black converse absent-mindedly as she stared off into space. I picked up my book and started to find the page I was on. It would have been a lot easier if I had a bookmark to mark the page with. "So…" she started. "Has your annoying roommate moved out yet?" I smirked at myself.

"Moved just this morning. Couldn't handle my awesomeness apparently." Jade laughed at my terrible joke. "The RA said that I could have the room to myself because it's too late to assign me a new one."

"Score!" Jade practically yelled. "I wish I could move in with you, but the stupid contract in my dorm says that we have to stay within our respective building. Bullcrap!"

"At least you like your roommate." She agreed and started to kick my shoes again. After a few minutes, I closed my book and put it in the black and red messenger bag by my side.

"Are you leaving already?" Jade whined.

"Haven't had enough time kicking my shoes?"

"No! I want more! Your shoes are so fun."

"Then get your own pair."

"So I can kick myself? How stupid do you think I am?" I looked at her. "Okay, don't answer that."

"I'll be reading on the grass in front of my doom tonight. Come and join me if you like." Her eyes got all starry like. I shook my head. She is so easily amused. Getting up and waving goodbye, I headed to the science lab to do that research I had yet to finish. The day was nice, mid 70's, sunny, a slight breeze ruffled the trees as I walked the paths through the court yard area to the science building. I waved to a few people before entering and disappearing into the deep, dark depths of the labs.

"Finally got your butt in," Mr. Whippet, my instructor, said without looking up from the microscope he was peering into. He's a tall, thin man with a head of silvery hair and loose clothing.

"Did you even change from yesterday?" I asked setting my bag down and washing up. Germs plus culture dishes plus microscope slides of cancer cells equals bad. To my great surprise, he actually looked up to answer me.

"Of course I did," he said with a smile. "How bad of a hygienist do you think I am?"

"I can't help it if all your shirts look the same." He looked down at his Hawaiian shirt with swirling green leaves and bright, prickly pineapples. Shrugging, he turned back to his microscope and looked into it again. I smiled and started to do my own observations. Hours passed before I looked up from my research. "My lord, is it seven already?" Whippet looked at his watch.

"Time flies when you're counting the intermediate stages of cell growth." I grimaced and stretched my hand. Five hours of work writing pages upon pages of information made one tired and hungry. I sniffed the air. What was that tantalizing smell? Usually, I only smell disinfectant and chemicals in the lab.

"I hope you're hungry," he said, handing me a large box. "I bought pizza." I opened it to find a pizza covered in cheese, Canadian bacon, sausage, mushrooms, onions, and various seasonings. My mouth watered.

"When did you order pizza, and why did you buy two?" I questioned.

"Oh, about a half hour ago. You were so into your work that you didn't even hear me call your name." I smiled sheepishly. "And that one is for you of course! I ordered one for myself."

"How much?" I asked pulling my wallet from my back pocket. He held up his hand to stop me.

"Free of charge. You're the only slacker who came in to help me today." I thanked him many times before he finally shoved me out the door and told me to go home. I opened the box, took a large slice, and bit into it. An explosion of tantalizing goodness touched my taste buds, making me salivate. I loved pizza. I munched on the cheesy goodness as I walked back through the trees to my dorm. I swear more people looked at me eating my supper than they did when I burst out laughing for no reason. The pizza must have looked as good as it tasted, and it tasted good. After five minutes, I arrived at my dorm.

"Hmmm. Should I bask in the glory that my roommate is finally gone? I don't think so," I said to myself turning left and finding a spot on the large grassy lawn in front of the building. The grounds people hadn't mowed the lawn recently and the grass was nice and long, perfect for sitting on and reading. That is exactly what I did. Setting the pizza aside, I took out my favorite book from my bag, laid on my stomach on the grass, and started to read. Somewhere during the struggle between good and evil, I must have fallen asleep because someone was shaking my shoulder. I rolled over onto my back and swatted at the hand.

"Get up." A male voice said. I groaned and stretched on the ground, wriggling around on the grass. I opened my eyes to see two strange guys looming overhead. They both were tall. One had brown hair that reached down to his chin with grey eyes and the other had short, spiky blond hair with blue eyes. The brown haired man was wearing black pants, boots, gloves, and a leather coat with white fur around the color. Under the coat, he wore a white shirt and a silver necklace with a lion's head on it. Two belts criss-crossed one another on his hips. The other guy also wore lots of black. Everything from his fore-arm length gloves, and long coat that was sleeveless and only flowed down the left half of his body, to his boots were black. A sliver wolf's head was attached to the shoulder armor he was wearing only on his left side. They both looked to be about 20.

"And I thought I wore black," I murmured looking down at my plain black t-shirt that suddenly had green grass stains all over it. "Crap," I swore, standing up and brushing the left over pieces of grass from my already stained shirt. "Now I have to wash this thing." Ignoring my shirt for the moment, I turned my attention to the strange men in front of me. They both just stared at me. "Can I help you with something?" I asked. They looked at each other. This must have been one of those silent conversations I've heard about. They certainly looked like they were talking.

"Could you tell us where this place is?" The brown haired man asked.

"Umm, the corner to 6th and 11th," I said pointing to the street signs.

"That's not what I meant."

"Okay, this is the University of Nebraska, located in Omaha, Nebraska." They looked at each other again. They seemed extremely confused standing here. "Is there any reason you want to know?"

"We just don't know where we are at the moment."

"In other words…you're lost." They looked slightly embarrassed as I said it. Going out on a limb, and not a safe one at that, I asked them a question. "Do you have a place to stay tonight?"

"Not exactly," brown hair said.

"This must sound creepy coming from a girl you just met, but my roommate just moved out and I have a little extra space. You can stay with me for a bit until you know where you are going." They looked at each other _again_. What was with them and their silent conversations? The blond guy hasn't even said anything yet. Brown hair turned to me and nodded once in agreement. "Okay then, follow me." I bent over, picked up my book, bag and left over pizza, and started walking to the entrance of the dorms. "Do you mind if I ask you your names?" I think I deserve that much.

"Squall Leonheart," the brown haired man answered.

"Cloud Strife," the blond one said. Wow, he actually said something.

"Mine is Kai, Kai Ashford." I heard Cloud whisper to Squall as I unlocked the doors and led them into the hallway.

"Are you sure we should stay with this girl?" he asked.

"I don't think it was coincidence we met Kai." Squall whispered in return and fell silent. If nothing else, these two were interesting. I like meself some interesting men.

* * *

They followed me up three flights of stairs, through a locked door, and down a hallway full of open doors. After we passed a few, people started to poke their heads out to stare and murmur.

"Is that Kai? With two hot guys?!"

"I wonder where she picked them up."

"Ohh, I wonder how Trè, Thane, and Zak will react."

"Are they staying over? Do they have brothers or cousins?"

"Go ask if you're so interested in it."

I stopped in the middle of the hallway with Squall and Cloud almost running into me. The quiet chatter died instantly. "Do any of you have something to ask me?" I questioned turning toward all the heads peeking out from the doors.

"Yeah," a girl named Heather called out. "Where can I get some hot stuff like that?" The rooms erupted in fits of laughs and giggles. I groaned and shook my head, waving at them to go away. The giggles died down as the doors shut and the hallway became quiet again.

"Sorry about that, guys. I was hoping we could avoid that little situation." I sighed in defeat. "Guess not." Both of them stayed quiet as we arrived at my room, halfway down the hall.

"Don't all speak up at once," I muttered while opening the door. I walked in and motioned them to enter as I was sticking the pizza box in the small fridge in the corner of my room. "You guys hungry?"

"No."

"Not really." I shut the fridge door and looked around my room. _Thank God I cleaned this morning._ The usually cluttered and dirty room was actually clean. My bed was made, the many fantasy and textbooks on my shelves were in a neat and orderly line, all the little stuffed animals, nick-nacks, posters of Japanese symbols, rock bands, and drawing were taped up in a clean fashion, and the clothing was all hung up or on the shelves. My roommate's bed was moved out, leaving a huge amount of floor space between my bed and the desk with over head shelving. My laptop sat on the desk along with a few papers and pencils. The closet doors, in front of my bed, were closed and the window, situated between my bed and the desk, was open to let the breeze circulate the air. The guys shuffled in and stood around uncomfortably as I pulled my pj's out from under my dark blue pillow.

"You can talk, or sit, or something. It isn't a morgue in here."

"I guess we asked for a place to stay tonight." Squall commented shifting to his right foot. Cloud looked around and started to observe the drawings on the wall.

"Where do you normally sleep?"

"On the ground."

"Oh," I said shortly. "Well, you are going to have to sleep there tonight. But I do have mats!" I went to my closet, opened the doors (thanking the heavens that I actually folded my clothes so they didn't all topple on top of me like in the cartoons) and pulled out two long, gray mats, two blankets, and two pillows. I carelessly tossed them to the ground and told the guys that I was going to the bathroom to wash up. After giving directions to the bathroom, (in case they needed it) I picked up my jammies, toothbrush, and toothpaste and headed there. Along the way, a few people poked their heads out in hopes of seeing the two gorgeous guys pass by. Disappointed that it was only me, they sadly shut their doors and locked them.

Smirking in the satisfaction that they couldn't fawn over Squall and Cloud, I entered the bathroom and started my nightly routine. Change, bathroom, wash hands, wash face, brush teeth, inspect face, and leave. When I returned to the room, the mats on the floor were made and the guys were conversing in low tones. Can't they just speak normally? They stopped talking when I closed the door and locked it.

"You don't have to stop talking when I come in," I commented as I turned off the lights and crawled into bed. I can't believe I slept outside until midnight. Idiot. I heard some rustling around as the men got situated in their beds, then quiet.

"If you guys want, I can show you exactly where you are on a map tomorrow." Silence. "I can also show you around campus and see what I can do to get you home."

"That would be good," Squall replied.

"Hey Cloud?" I asked

"Yes," his voiced sounded from the darkness.

"Can you even talk?" I heard Squall chuckle as Cloud remained silent.

"Only if I want to," he finally replied.

"M'kay. Please don't take the question the wrong way." I rolled over in my bed and passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Light peeked through the window, shining on my face and illuminating the room in a soft, yellow glow. I groaned and sat up.

"Morning already?" I asked, rubbing my eyes and looking at the clock. 8:00 AM. Even on the weekends I can't sleep past 8. That just sucks. I looked around the room to discover that it was empty. "Those guys flaked on me!" I exclaimed throwing back my covers and jumping out of bed. "That's just annoying!"

I stretched and did a few warm-up moves, punching the air in a fiery flurry of passion. After I let off some steam, I noticed the note on top of one of the made beds.

_Went outside. Will see you later today._

_ -Squall and Cloud_

"Hmpf," I noised, putting the sheet on the desk and picking up my towel and a change of clothes from the closet. "I did all those warm-up punches for no reason then." I shrugged, went to the bathroom to shower and get ready, and came back to the room. The place seemed oddly empty for the guys only being there for half a night. I sighed and plucked a book from one of my many shelves. I also grabbed a dark brown hoodie for warmth, and put it on over my maroon t-shirt. Slipping on my shoes and locking the door behind me, I proceeded down to the main floor of the building. I went out the doors into the open air and inhaled deeply. I love the smell of morning air. It was early enough that not many people were out, but late enough that it wasn't freezing cold. I walked about halfway down the sloping path from the door and stopped by the rail. Hitching my butt onto the cold steel, I faced the trees away from my dorm, and started reading.

I didn't realized how good of a book this was until I hit page 20. My eyes seemed to fly across the pages, absorbing all the juicy details of the fascinating book from the intense action sequences to the gushy love scenes between the protagonist and his lover. About half way through the book I heard two distinct voices out of the many background noises of passing people.

"Where are we?" One asked.

"I don't know." The other replied.

"Maybe we should ask that girl over there."

"You go ask her."

"Why me?!"

"Because, it was your idea."

"Agh," he replied and walked over. "Excuse me, but do you know where we are?" I looked up from my book to see a male with curved, spiked blond hair standing in front of me. He wore a yellow, chest high jacket with white trim. Black pants, with the right leg going down to mid calf and the left stopping mid thigh, were under black overalls that cut off a bit below the waist. A chain was attached to his belt and curved down to the hidden loop of his pants. On his left arm was an elbow length metal glove that attached to his shoulder plate with course, red mesh. On his other hand was a black, leather glove. There was a silver necklace around his neck with a strange symbol on it. He wore yellow shoes and short, black socks. He looked to be about 19.

Next to him stood another blond boy with shoulder length hair. He wore blue cargo pants, a white, sleeveless shirt and a green, sleeveless vest that stopped about mid chest. There looked to be three or so overlapping and criss-crossing brown belts around his waist with a holster on the left side. He had on silver, knee length combat boots, black gloves, and blue cuffs with silver cuff links. He looked to be about 19 also, but was a head shorter than the other boy. The other boy looked to be about the same height as Squall and Cloud, which was a couple inches taller than my 5'5. This boy also seemed to have a yellow furred tail waving around behind him. It looked too real to be fake. That is just not normal. They both had blue eyes. What is with the Aryan race thing all of a sudden.

"You are in Omaha Nebraska. The University of Nebraska to be exact." The taller man smiled and sighed. "I'm guessing that didn't help, right?"

"Not really," he replied. "Why do these things always seem to happen to me?" I looked at him strangely before turning my attention to the other man. He seemed to be looking at me in interest. Creepy.

"Might I ask your name?" He asked walking closer.

"Might I ask yours first?" I answered, snapping my book closed and hopping off the rail.

"Zidane Tribal," he smirked bowing slightly. I felt as if he was doing this in a mocking fashion. Smart ass.

"Mine's Tidus," the other one said clenching his hand into a fist and knocking it against his chest. I giggled at the motion. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I laughed, waving my hand in dismissal. "My name's Kai Ashford."

"What's this?" Someone said from behind me. I turned to see Squall and Cloud.

"I seem to have picked up some more lost little sheep," I replied. "What did you two do this morning?"

"Nothing important," Squall said. "What are you doing here?" He asked Tidus and Zidane.

"Getting lost," Tidus replied. "What are you doing here?"

"Wait, wait. You four know each other?" I asked putting up my hands for silence.

"I suppose you could say that," Zidane said from beside me.

"We are more acquaintances," Cloud said. "Meeting one in battle does not make friends." I ogled at his response.

"Okay then, but no fighting here."

"Of course not!" Tidus exclaimed waving his hands around for emphasis.

"Wouldn't think of it," Zidane said, his tail twitching. That thing still weirded me out.

"Kai, you said there was a map we could look at?" Squall questioned, interrupting the conversation.

"Umm, yeah. In the history wing. I'll show you." I led them across campus to McLean Hall, home of economics, history, mathematics, languages, political science, and women's study. I hate all those subjects. The walk over wasn't so bad, except everybody was staring at us. The boys looked astonished and the girls jealous. It wasn't my fault all the extremely hot guys flocked to me like mice to cheese. I was greeted by some people and given nasty looks by others.

"Why are we getting all these looks?" Tidus questioned as some girls gave him a flirting glance.

"I'm not sure," Zidane said, "but I enjoy it." He winked at some passerby's. I swear those girls were going to fainted on the cement.

"Keep dreaming junior," I grumbled sticking my hands in the pockets of my hoodie. Both Squall and Cloud smiled at this comment. I can't believe I made the two stoic men smile. Hooray for miracles. Finally, we arrived at McLean Hall and walked inside. Ascending three flights of stairs and turning to the right, we were confronted by a large map. This thing was huge, taking up over half the hallway. It was a world map with all the countries, capitals, seas, oceans, imaginary lines, real lines, and everything else on it. I went over to the North American continent and pointed to Omaha, Nebraska.

"That is where we are," I stated dropping my hand. All four of the guys looked at each other. "Does any of this map look familiar to you?" I asked furrowing my brows.

"Not really," Tidus said smiling. I can't understand how he can smile at everything. What a goof.

"This takes us back to square one," I commented, turning towards them. "What now?"

"We can't do anything at the moment," Cloud said crossing his arms. "All we can do now is figure out why we are here and try to find a way back home."

"I don't mind it so much here," Zidane said smiling at some women walking behind him. They giggled as they hurried away. I rolled my eyes.

"Well, it's noon, and I'm hungry. Anyone want to join me for lunch?"

"Food, where?! I'm starved." Tidus exclaimed

"You're always hungry," Zidane said.

"Hey, I'm still growing!"

"Sure you are," Squall said. Everyone except Tidus chuckled as we made our way to the dining center. Not much was talked about for the rest of the day. Only Tidus and Zidane were talkative, questioning me about this city, country, continent, culture, money, politics, fighting, and everything else. You name it, we talked about it. It was soon eight PM and time for band practice. No, not that kind of band with the dorky nerds who play the horn. It was practice with the members of my rock band.

"When will you be back?" Squall asked me as I picked up some stray music from around my room. It was even squishier in here now that there were four mats spread across the floor. It was like a labyrinth of people, blankets, clothing, and spare paper (I suck at keeping my room clean).

"Probably about ten or eleven, depending on how bored we get halfway through."

"Do you need anyone to walk with you on the way back?" Tidus asked lifting his head from where he was laying.

"Nah. The roads are well lit. I think I'll be fine." I waved them a goodbye, telling them to stay in the room, and left. The sun was setting as I walked the way to the Center of the Arts building were my band practiced every week. It only took about five minutes to get there. During the walk, the setting sun cast red, yellow, and orange hues upon the clouds, trees, and reflecting glass. I hummed a tune and smelled the lush leaves that flew in the breeze. Once I arrived at the Arts building, the excitement started to pick up. It was jam session night. A bunch of the local bands got together a couple times out of the year to play with one another. It is awesome when five or six lead guitar players duke it out in an all out technical battle of wits and skill.

"Kai!" Brian from the band _Flaming Penguins_ yelled, waving me over. He was laying upside down on one of the big, fluffy armless chairs in the hall. He was strumming chords on his acoustic guitar while the other members of his band played the see-who-can-juggle-the-most-crap-at-once game. So far I saw Zeek juggle two drum sticks, a bag of cheap picks, and two hacky sacks at once. I can't even juggle two normal sized balls much less all that. I shook my head in astonishment as I walked over.

"Playing guitar and letting all the blood rush to your head all at once. You always were a multi-tasker," I stated, grabbing a drum stick from the aerial display and twirled it between my fingers. Brian laughed as he sat right side up. I waved off his ridiculous glee and went to get my guitar. If everyone was going to be as crazy as the _Flaming Penguins_ today, then it was going to be a fun evening. On to the jam session!

* * *

After three hours of playing, and me kicking serious ass, the session stopped. Bleeding fingers were wrapped in bandages, and everyone went home. I bid farewell to my band-mates and left the building for my room. As I left, I noticed how much three hours changed the face of the earth. The once bright and sunny skies now lay shrouded under the dark of night. The air was crisp and cool from the drop in temperature. I breathed in deeply and sighed a breath of relief. I love the night. I began to walk back when I heard a growling noise. Stopping in my tracks, I looked around for the source. Out of the shadows of the trees stepped a dog. Or, I think it was a dog. It looked like some sort of alien German Sheppard. The ears stood erect as the thing growled at me with too long teeth. Instead of fur, there was tough and calloused skin of red and peach. The claws, six inches long, flexed on the ground. I widened my eyes in shock as the thing walked slowly towards me. I started to back up in fear when two more of those monsters appeared. Now I was scared shitless.

I turned tail and ran in the other direction. Before I took five steps, one of the alien-dogs grabbed my right leg with its teeth and bit, hard. I screamed in pain and crashed to the ground as another jumped on my left arm, leaving deep scratches, and the third took a chunk out of my right thigh. Tears poured down my face as I groped around on the ground for a weapon, any weapon. My hand reached a large rock and I seized the chance. Twisting onto my back, I smashed the rock into the head of one of the creatures. The thing whimpered in pain and crashed into the other two monsters. Ignoring the searing pain, I jumped to my feet and started running. Hearing the monsters behind made me run even harder. Fear and terror gripped me as I flew down the road toward my dorm.

Half way there, I spotted a stick on the ground. I scooped it up and turned to fight. I was done running. Swinging the flimsy stick like a baseball bat, I readied for the attack. The stick smashed into the skull of one of the creatures lunging at my face. The monster fell to the ground as another took its place. How many of these things where there? I swung again, only for the stupid stick to shatter in my hands. Crappy piece of wood. I dropped onto my side and curled into a ball, protecting my face with my arms. Realizing that they would tear me limb from limb, I prepared myself for the worst. I heard one of the alien-dogs jump towards me, but didn't feel the impact. Curious, I lifted one arm to look. Squall stood above me wielding some sort of gun crossed with a blade. He swung it at another monster and cleaved the thing in two.

"Are you alright," he said dispatching another one.

"That's a stupid question," I gasped attempting to uncurl from my defensive position. Before I could stand up, Cloud appeared out of the shadows, dropped down to the ground, and scooped me into his arms.

"Will you be okay?" Cloud asked Squall.

"It's only a couple weak fiends," Squall answered. "I'll be back a few minutes after you." Cloud nodded and took off running towards the dorms.

"You can put me down," I said. "I can probably walk."

"No," he replied. "You are wounded and need treatment. Walking on an injured leg can further the pain and seriousness of the injury." I fell silent went along for the ride. Who are these men? Do they all have such nice swords and great fighting capabilities? What attacked me and why? All these questions raced through my head as we arrived at the dorm door. I pulled the key out of my pocket and unlocked the door, all from the safety of Cloud's arms. He climbed the three flights of stairs, walked down the quiet hallway, and went into the bathroom. He set me down on the floor and told me to stay as he went to fetch the first aid kit from my room.

"Doesn't that guy get tired? I must be heavy," I said to myself as I grabbed the ledge above my head and pulled. The effort it took to stand was incredible. Pain shot through my leg like a thousand white hot daggers whenever I so much as bumped it. Gritting my teeth against the pain, I hopped over to the sink in front of me and clenched the porcelain. Panting from the energy it took to move this far, I turned on the sink and let the water run cold. While I was waiting for the sink to fill, Cloud, Squall, Tidus, and Zidane all entered the bathroom.

"What happened?!" Tidus practically screamed while he freaked out over my injuries.

"How the hell should I know?" I growled at him. "Some dog monsters just attacked me for no reason!" I gasped, practically falling over from the pain. Zidane and Cloud were immediately at my side to catch me. Tidus seemed to run all over the place as he worried. Squall walked over with two towels in one hand and the first aid kit in the other. He dunked the towels in the water and let them soak while he opened the kit and readied some of the antibacterials and bandages.

"You're going to have to remove your pants so I can see the damage," he said looking at me. I screwed up my face and looked at all the guys. I was very modest when it came to clothing.

"It has to be done," Cloud said, shifting me so I sat on the ground. Zidane held my back as I unbuttoned my pants and shimmied them down to the top of my legs.

"You're going to have to help me," I said blushing. This was so embarrassing.

"Tidus! Stop shouting and help," Squall ordered him. Tidus immediately calmed down and went to my side to help get my pants off. It was a painful process of pulling, peeling, and bleeding. I tried not to gasp at every painful jolt, but failed miserably. After awhile, we finally got the pants peeled off to reveal the ugly truth of my injuries. Chunks of flesh and skin were gouged from my right leg, and multiple deep scratches covered my left. Some of the slashes were so deep that you could see the bone! Squall immediately took a towel from the sink and began to rinse the blood from my legs, both dried and fresh. After the initial cleaning, he applied antibacterial and salves to coat my legs. From there, he carefully wrapped each leg in gaze and white bandages.

"Now for your arms," he said. Zidane went to fetch my pajama pants as I carefully removed my shredded hoodie.

"That hurts! And this was my favorite hoodie," I growled as I tossed the ruined clothing aside. My arm wasn't nearly as bad as the legs. The only things there were deep scratches and a weird burning, stinging sensation. Again, Squall washed the area well, applied antibacterial and salve, and wrapped the wound. Luckily, the scratches only covered my forearm, leaving all the muscle intact. Zidane had returned by the time he finished.

"I like your pants," Zidane commented holding up the purple pajama pants with white clouds all over it.

"For your sake, that had better have been the truth." Zidane smirked and helped me slide the pants on. Cloud and Tidus stood me up to pull them over my hips. I sighed in relief and out of tiredness. How long did this ordeal take? What time was it? Where did I put those damn drugs? I had some pain-killers stashed somewhere around this place.

"Time for bed," Cloud said scooping me up into his arms again.

"I can walk, you know," I grouched at him. I was tired and didn't want to rely on everyone around me. After being mostly self-sufficient for many years, asking for help felt very awkward. It felt like I was asking too much from them.

"You shouldn't walk on your right leg for awhile. The wounds need to heal at least a little before you put stress on them," Squall commented packing up the first aid kit.

"Can you at least let me wash my towels? They shouldn't stay in blood soaked water like that."

"Leave it took me!" Tidus said as he started to drain the water and fill it with clean stuff. Was he always so cheerful? And why couldn't I do my own towels?

"But…"

"Go to bed, Kai. That was some ordeal you went through," Zidane said taking one towel from Tidus and scrubbing it with soap in a different sink. "We can handle things here." My response was cut off as Cloud walked out of the bathroom. I was quiet all the way down to my room. When we got there, Clout set me down on the edge of the bed, handed me my night shirt, and turned away. I stared at the shirt for a few seconds.

"I must be a real idiot," I said glumly. Cloud turned and looked at me. "I couldn't even fight off a stupid dog-monster. I'm a real weakling."

"No one could expect you to fight off a fiend. You have no battle experience." Cloud knelt in front of me. "Kai, you are not weak. You probably haven't even picked up a sword before, right?" I stared at the floor, averting my eyes. Cloud got up once more and turned his back. "Change and go to sleep."

This time I listened, pulling off my current, ripped shirt and replacing it with the blue night shirt with a flame logo on the breast. I then pulled the covers down and scooted myself onto the bed. Cloud came and helped me into a comfortable position. Squall, Tidus, and Zidane entered just as I pulled the covers over me.

"Are you sure you're alright!" Tidus asked again.

"Of course she's not alright," Zidane chided as he hung the clean, wet towels on the rack behind the door. "She just got mauled by a wolf fiend." I practically covered my head with the blanket as my face turned red.

"The question now is what was a fiend doing in this world?" Squall asked everyone. "I assume that fiends are not common around here?" I shook my head.

"I know," Tidus said smacking his fist against his other hand. "Maybe, the fiends traveled here by space ship!" I groaned as his head was smacked by Squall.

"It is more probable that they were sent here by someone," Zidane commented laying down on his mat. "That would be the reason why Kai was attacked."

"Maybe it was a coincidence?" Tidus questioned. Cloud smacked him over the head.

"Think it through. If we were here and all met Kai, would creatures from our worlds come here to attack just anybody?"

"Your worlds? How did you end up here? Are your worlds similar to mine?" I asked. Everyone looked at each other in question.

"Our four worlds are more similar to one another than yours is. Your world has humans, we speak the same language, our mannerisms are the same, but other than that, our worlds are different," Squall said.

"How so?"

"In our worlds, there are people who can wield magick, like fire and lightning," Zidane said sitting up.

"There are great summoners, who can call upon the most wonderous beasts to fight for them!" Tidus commented.

"Many smaller fiends walk the earth, giving trouble to the local towns people," Cloud stated.

"All the political systems are completely different, leading to different social structures and customs," Squall finished. I nodded my head in understanding.

"So, does that mean you are from different universes or dimensions? Or just from different worlds in the same solar system?" I asked.

"Cloud and I were doing research this morning, and we concluded that we live on different planets scattered through space. We are from the same dimension. That is why our time-line is the same," Squall said crossing his arms in thought.

"Time-line?"

"The series of events in which something happens," Cloud inputted. "If one day passes here, then one day also passes on our worlds. I would suspect that the same number of years has passed on all our planets, we just record them differently." I nodded in understanding.

"So, if you were all sent here, how did you get here?"

"The crystals," Zidane said. "It would explain why we got here so fast."

"Maybe we were summoned!" Tidus exclaimed. Both Squall and Cloud smacked his head this time. He whined because of the pain and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, why not?"

"Because summoners summon the faytes," Zidane said. "We are obviously not faytes."

"You could be here because of me," I said slowly. The thoughts were still coming together in my mind. "Like Cloud said, it couldn't be just coincidence this happened. Maybe you were sent here for some reason involving me. Though I can't see why."

"We can think about why tomorrow," Squall said glancing at the clock.

"You mean we can talk about it later today," I corrected seeing as though it was three AM. The time normal people were asleep. The room filled with noise as the four guys settled in for the night. "Thank god it's Saturday." I whispered.

"Why is Saturday so good?" Tidus asked.

"No school." With that, I turned over, as best I could, and fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It seemed like only a few minutes passed before I woke up, legs and arm burning, screaming in protest from staying in one position the entire night. I moved them each one at a time and winced as I tried to work out all the kinks. I was doing a bed dance. Glancing over to the clock, I discovered it was 8:00 AM.

"Why can't I seem to sleep past eight?" I groaned, popping my shoulder as I stretched it above my head.

"That noise didn't sound good," Zidane commented sitting on the foot of my bed.

"Sounded pretty damn good to me," I retorted. I tried to move my right leg to stretch it and gasped as a white hot pain seared from heel to thigh. Zidane was immediately up and by my side asking what hurt. I waved him off and tried to secretly dab a tear from my eye. That hurt.

"Looks like it is time for more medication," Squall said, appearing behind Zidane with a glass and some pain-killers. I snatched the pills from his hand and swallowed them without the use of water. I stopped and thought.

"I suppose I can't take a shower because of the bandages, right?" I asked, waiting for the medicine to start working.

"Right."

"Okay then. In a few minutes, can someone help me to the bathroom so I can clean up and use the toilet?" Squall nodded and walked out of the room.

"Hey Kai!" Tidus greeted cheerfully. He jumped up from the floor and bounded off toward the closet. What a dork. "What do you want to wear today?"

"Umm, those jean on the right, that black shirt with the silver tree winding up the side of it, those strawberry socks, and that crescent moon necklace."

"I wouldn't recommend the jeans, a lighter weight fabric would be better, at least until you heal up," Cloud said from the corner. He was reading a book from the shelf.

"Okay, then those dark green cargo pant one shelf lower." Tidus grabbed the appropriate clothing and thrust them into Zidane's hands.

"I'm gonna help Kai to the bathroom," he said grinning. Zidane gave him a dirty look.

"Can you manage that?" He asked. "You seem like such a wuss."

"Look who's talking shorty." The two squabbled between each other until Cloud got fed up. He snapped the book shut, walked over to me, and picked me up bridal style. Tidus looked at him in disappointment. I blushed slightly at all the help. I could walk, probably. He carried me all the way to the bathroom and set me down on the tile. I sighed and turned to the sink. Crap, I forgot my toothbrush. Before I could say anything, Zidane appeared to my right and handed me my purple toothbrush and toothpaste. I thanked him and got to work on those pearly whites. They stay that color for a reason. I brushed my hair and limped over to a bathroom stall. This was really embarrassing peeing in a quiet room with a bunch of guys listening. I finished up and washed my hands before tackling the mess that was getting my clothes on. I pulled off my night shirt, thanking god that I left my bra on, and grabbed the fresh one.

"Um, Kai? How long have you had those tattoos on your back?" Tidus asked, walking up close and examining my back.

"Hmm? Oh, they've always been there," I said speaking the truth. Ever since I could remember, they were there. A pair of wings flowed from my shoulder blades to my lower back. They had an angelic design and were so real they looked as if they could pop out of my back at any moment. Cloud and Zidane came over and stared in amazement at the intricate design.

Squall walked in, "What's taking you so long?" He stopped and stared too. I frowned in annoyance and put my shirt on.

"They are tattoos. It's not like I actually have wings," I commented. The four guys looked at each other with expressions ranging from excitement to worry. What was going on here?

"Do you…remember anything from your childhood?" Squall asked tentatively.

"Not before I was adopted."

Tidus's face lit up. "Adopted! Guys, that means that she's-"

"Shut up!" Squall interrupted, knocking Tidus on the side of his head. "We don't know that for sure."

"But it would make sense," Cloud said, glancing around.

Zidane smiled. "He's right. The fiends, us being here…it has to be because-" he stopped talking with a glare from Squall. I frowned in displeasure.

"What the hell are you guys talking about?" I demanded.

"It's nothing," Squall insisted.

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

"It's nothing."

"Whatever," I growled. Why aren't they explaining themselves? They are obviously talking about me. Anyone with half a brain could figure that out. While I stewed in my own annoyance, Tidus came over and helped me get my pants up. After a few painful moments, the pants were on and fastened. I stopped and looked at them. Nothing like a little pain to decrease irritation from two mysterious, one mischievous, and one peppy guy.

"What now?" I asked.

"I would like to speak with Cloud and show him a few things," Squall answered. "I'm sure Tidus and Zidane can take care of you for one day." He looked at them both.

"No problem," Tidus said thumping his fist against his chest.

"I will protect the princess," Zidane smiled.

"Princess? Who's the princess?" I questioned. I hate it when people call me by girly names. Squall shook his head and shot Zidane a warning look as we bickered between one another. Cloud followed Squall out of the room while the rest of us were distracted. I sighed after Tidus and Zidane slid into battle ready positions. Men can be annoying at times. I told them to stop bickering; I wanted to go back to my room.

"No more bridal style. I'm not completely useless." Tidus put my right arm over his shoulders and he grabbed the back of my pant to help support me as we limped down the hallway together. Some people snickered as we passed and I shot them dirty looks. Zidane grabbed my things and walked ahead of us to put them away. When Tidus and I entered the room, the mats where pushed against the wall to leave a clear path to my bed or the chair at my desk.

"What time is it?" I asked moving towards the bed.

"Ten," Zidane answered curling up on my pillow like a dog. His tail twitched as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"We had better go," I said, rubbing the sore spots on my uninjured limbs. Those fiends sure took a toll on the body.

"Go where?" Tidus asked.

"To the center for the arts. There is practice today at eleven."

"Practice?"

"Yeah, I play in the orchestra."

"What instrument?" Zidane asked.

"I'll let you figure that out once we get there." Tidus helped me up, out of the room, and down the stairs (those were tricky). We were soon limping down the street as a controlled unit. Tidus was the bulk of the help while Zidane walked in front to clear a path through all the people walking around today. I got many questioning looks and a few satisfied grins. I swear, what did I ever do to have people hate me like that? It took awhile to make it to the building, but we made it in one piece. Through the doors, up some stairs, down a hallway, down even more stairs, and we were there. The place wasn't too crowded because there was still a lot of time before practice started. I did see three people I knew though. I waved as they looked over. Panic and worry crossed their faces.

"What happened to you?!" Thane asked wide eyed. His bronze hair was particularly nice today, styled to look like a 90 mile storm just ripped through the room. He wore faded jeans, a red button down shirt with a black tie, sneakers, and a leather wrist watch.

"I bet you got hit by a truck. You always were careless," Trè commented lounging in his seat. He had pitch black hair that was cut so one eye was covered and the other had short, pointy bangs. He wore black jeans with a chain going from his belt loop to a wallet in his back pocket, a white under shirt with a black over shirt unbuttoned, and a paint splattered wrist band. His lip was pierced on the right side and he was sporting many other piercings on his ears.

"Nah, she's not that irresponsible," Zak countered sitting on a swivel stool. He had short, spiked lighter black hair that went up and back. He wore jeans with a band tee. The only accessories he had on were a watch and one piercing in his left ear.

"I would give you the finger, but that would be suicide with all these chairs and stands here." They laughed as I slowly made my way over to the corner they were in.

"Who are your friends?" Thane asked pointing his chin in my direction. I walked over and stopped in front of them before answering. I waved Tidus off so I could stand on my own two feet. Well, one and a half.

"Tidus, Zidane," I said, pointing to each one of them in turn. "This is Trè, Thane, and Zak." They waved in greeting.

"How many boyfriends do you have? Slow down woman," Trè grinned.

"Don't blame me if I have more boyfriends now than you ever had girlfriends," I countered. Thane and Zak laughed.

"Hey, I'm still curious. What instrument do you play?" Tidus interjected. All four of us stared at him.

"Can you really not figure it out?" I asked glancing over to the corner.

"Pay attention, she plays guitar," Zidane commented, pointing to where I just looked. Three guitars stood upright in stands in the corner. One cherry red, one black with sliver swirls, and the last black with maroon streaks.

"Huh? How can you play guitar in an orchestra?" Tidus asked.

"Wait until practice starts and I'll show you." By now, people were trickling in and the room soon grew full. It also grew louder as the winds, brass, and strings all started to warm up. The conductor, a wispy man of 50, walked in after about ten minutes and waved the symphony quiet.

"Okay, this is just going to be a dry run through of the one song. You are doing great on the rest and don't need any practice." The symphony whooped and cheered at the comment. He called for silence again. "Okay, I'll give you a few more minutes to warm-up. Kai, what happened to you? You look you lost a battle with a lawnmower."

"Not a big deal, I can still play."

"Well I hope so. We can't do this thing without you. Who are your friends?"

"Just helping me get around." He nodded and turned to the first chair cellist to answer a question. I waved at Tidus and Zidane to go wait in the corner and sat down on a stool. Zak took his place at the trap set, Thane picked up his black and maroon bass guitar and started fiddling with the amp, and Trè brought two guitars over; the red one for me and the black and silver one for him. We got situated and the conductor waved for silence. The oboe gave a few A's and the symphony tuned.

"From the top," he yelled, waving his stick for emphasis. The room sat dead silent in wait for the first down beat. It came quickly and the brass and strings started off. Crashing chords and a powerful melody was followed by the guitars and drums playing the intro to the song. A chorus of men and women stationed in the back raised their voices for the main body of the song and we played. I glanced over to Tidus and Zidane after a particularly difficult string of notes to see their reaction. They both sat wide eyed and jaw dropped in amazement. I gave a smirk of satisfaction and dove into another hard part. Seven some minutes passed and we ended fast and loud. The sound of the last note reverberated in the room for a few seconds before everyone erupted in noisy chatter.

"How was _that!_" Trè remarked smirking at me.

"Meh," I replied.

"You suck!" Thane whispered over his shoulder. "Stop pussying around and get a real job." The bass section, being the only section close enough to here the joke, erupted in laughter as Trè gave Thane the finger. The conductor waved for silence. No one noticed as they chattered like hungry squirrels. He shot a look in my direction and air guitared a few noted. I smiled and nodded. Turning up the amp, I played a particularly hideous string of chords. Everyone cringed in total pain and the room fell silent.

"That was…" everyone leaned forward in their chairs in anticipation. Would we have to play it again? Did it completely suck? "Stupendous!" The room filled with loud cheering after the complement was given. The conductor waved at us to go home and everyone started to pack up.

"Ha! We are going to rock the concert tomorrow!" Trè said, taking the guitars to the corner and placing them back on the rack.

"Actually, Kai is going to rock the concert. You're just there for back up," Zak said putting down his sticks and swirling around on his swivel stool.

"Silence drummer boy!"

"Up yours guitar freak!"

I shook my head in exasperation as the guys bickered back and forth. What dolts. Tidus came running up like an eager puppy.

"That was amazing! How do you do that?"

"Do what? Limp? That one should be obvious," I replied standing up. Zidane caught my arm and helped me walk to the door.

"No, play! That was cool!"

"She's been playing since she was a wee munchkin," Thane said, opening the door for me and Zidane.

"I wasn't a munchkin, I was a little folk," I replied, punching him lightly on the arm as I limped past.

"Doesn't that mean you were a midget?" Zidane asked as we turned the corner to face a lobby area. It was a very long and very wide hallway with lots of chairs, tables, and random pianos cluttering the space. The six of us sat our asses down in a clump of comfy chairs surrounding a table. Thane pulled out his cell phone and ordered pizza. We talked endlessly about nothing until the pizza guy arrived with cheesy goodness.

"And that is why all women should take self-defense classes," Trè said, biting into his third slice of meat pizza after a particularly long rant. I wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve.

"So you're basically saying that all women are defenseless twits who scream at the slightest danger and who can't lift a finger in their defense?"

"Most women are like that, yeah." I puffed up as he stared at me.

"Watch it Trè," Zak said.

"Dangerous territory. Hell hath no fury like a women scorned," Thane joked. I jumped to my feet (more like hopped on my good foot trying to gain my balance) and curled my hands into fists. I started to sway back and forth like I was in some mortal combat game.

"Sit down before you fall down," Trè said unimpressed. I put my hands on my hips then clocked him one, right in the face. Sucker punch! Trè and his chair rolled back a few feet from the force of the punch.

"Take that you bastard!" I yelled, shaking my fists. Zidane looked at me in amazement and Tidus is question.

"You fucking girl whore!" Trè said, covering his bleeding nose and pulling some tissues from his pocket.

"Nice one," Thane and Zack chimed in unison. I smiled and sat back down.

"Close your mouth, Tidus." I said rubbing my knuckles. His head was hard. Tidus closed his mouth and shook his head for the third time.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Zidane said, smiling at me.

"Hey, he was asking for it," I countered.

"No I wasn't!" Trè said, finally stopping the bleeding.

"Yeah, you were," Zak interjected. We all laughed as the percussion instructor rounded the corner to see blood on the floor and dripping from Trè's face. His face literally turned a shade of purple as his temper rose. I swear he was getting ready to lecture us about how we shouldn't fight, how the world should be full of peace, the hippy crap. He glanced at me and his face toned down to a mild red color. He learned months ago that the only reason I fight is because the person was asking for it. I smiled and waved. He shook his head and walked in the other direction. He was a softy when it came to scolding me.

"Crisis averted," Thane whispered grabbing the back of Trè's shirt as he lunged at me.

"Whoa, is it that time already?" The gigantic clock on the wall informed me that it was well after 3PM. We had been sitting here and talking for 3 hours. How time flies when you're kicking ass. "Gotta run!"

"Figuratively I hope," Zak said, pulling me to my feet.

"Nah, I was thinking of ripping all the bandages off and running down the street as my legs ooze blood onto the pavement," I said.

"That really gross!" Tidus exclaimed as I slung my arm over his shoulder. I laughed as Zidane, Tidus, and I walked out the door and into the warm sunlight. I squeezed my eyes shut in content as the sun's rays shined down on my skin.

"Where to?" Zidane asked winking at a group of girls walking by. They squealed in joy as they hurried by.

"How do you do that?" I asked, looking at the passing girls.

"Do what?"

"Wink at a girl and have her practically melt at your feet? That just seems a bit odd."

"I suppose it has always been a gift."

"Huh."

"Too bad it doesn't work on you."

"Keep dreaming buddy." We turned to the right and headed back to the dorms. It was a few feet before Tidus noticed something.

"Hey, Kai! You're walking more on your own!"

"Hm?" I looked down at my feet to see that more of my weight was centered on my legs instead of Tidus's shoulders. I blinked in surprise. "You're right!"

"Wow. Do you always heal this fast?" Zidane asked.

"I never got seriously hurt before. The most serious things that happened to me were bruised and pulled muscles, a sprained ankle, and a paper cut."

"A paper cut?" He looked at me in a you-can't-be-serious look.

"This paper cut was amazing! It was gushing blood all over the sink. It took 10 minutes for the flow to stop."

"I didn't know a paper cut could be so dangerous." Tidus said.

"Don't be a smart ass," I grouched.

"I wasn't. I was being serious!" We walked about halfway back before we heard some familiar voices behind us.

"I see your healing nicely," Squall said smirking.

"Yeah. It's this thing call wound healing. You see, when the epidermis of your body, aka your skin, is cut or torn, cells migrate and divide to create healthy tissue. Then, this thing called angiogenesis occurs. That's when new blood vessels form from the endothelial cells in your body. Fibroblasts then grow and…" Squall held up a hand to stop my mindless ranting.

"I got it."

"Really? You're a biology major that is going to med school? Most people don't know this stuff."

"Don't get smart kid."

"I already thought I was." He shook his head in exasperation as I grinned.

"Any how," Cloud said, picking up the previous conversation, "seeing how much you have improved in the last 24 hours, Squall and I believe that you should start training soon."

"Training?" I asked.

"There is great potential in you Kai. We just need to bring that potential out." Squall said.

"Hey, I'm just a normal 18 year old girl. Biochemistry major, music freak, gamer, and bookworm. No fighting potential."

"That isn't necessarily true," Cloud said.

"Right," Squall interjected. "No matter what you say or believe, you are not a normal girl."

"Prove it," I challenged. Are these guys insane? My future is a pharmacy researcher or a doctor.

"Those tattoos on your back."

"That's right! If you don't know where you got them, that can't be normal!" Tidus said. I frowned at him. I want to be normal.

"All these events, from the tattoos to the meeting us to the fiends, aren't just happenstance," Zidane added. "Everything was meant to be. You are special, Kai."

I put my hands over my ears. "Don't want to hear it!"

"Don't be childish," Squall said. I silted my eyes. Damn him for being right all the time.

"Fine. So why do I need to learn to fight?"

"To keep you alive the next time you meet fiends," Cloud stated. I fidgeted. He had me.

"When do I begin?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this chapter is so short. Having three difficult test in the same week on three consecutive days really takes a chunk of time out of my life. I swear that all the teachers get together and pick the same week (even the same day) to spring tests on their students.** **It's probably their version of a sick joke.  
**

Chapter 4

"Shit! I'm late! Shit, Shit!" I cursed as I limped down the hallway of the performing arts center. I ran as fast as my leg would allow thanking god that I decided to wear the flat shoes today. My leg miraculously healed even more over night and during the day. I was pleasantly surprised when I started to walk without assistance. "From cripple to healer in one day, cool." I rounded the corner to find Zak, Thane, and Trè waiting for me.

"Told you she'd come," Zak said thunking Trè on the back of the head with his drum stick.

"What? You doubted me?" I said appalled. Zak laughed and Trè rolled his eyes as I shook my head. Trè handed me my cherry red guitar and pushed me through the doorway to backstage.

"There you are!" the conductor sighed rushing over. "I actually thought you weren't going to show."

"And miss my chance to wear leather during a concert? Dream on." In light of what we were playing, the conductor allowed Trè and me to wear more interesting concert attire. Since all the songs we were going to play tonight were from video games, he allowed us to dress the part. Trè sported black leather pants tucked into combat boots, a white tee shirt under a black leather coat, and multiple gothic belts around his waist. A silver stud earring was in his left ear and a silver necklace was hanging around his neck. I just noticed that he looked like an emo Squall in those clothes. I wonder if that's even possible. I wore black lace-up boots that reached mid thigh, black shorts, a blue vest over a white sleeveless shirt with the collar sticking out, a black belt, forearm guards, and one shoulder guard on the right shoulder strapped on with brown leather. It was badass. Too bad Thane and Zak were spoil sports. They said a black shirt and leather pants were enough. No accessories required.

"I should have thought as much. But you really should have come before the concert started." It was the very end of intermission and the last song was about to be played.

"Sorry. I got held up."

"I won't even ask. Now all you wait until I signal you onto the stage." The conductor turned on his heel and walked onto the stage to polite applause. I quickly checked the intonation of my guitar before he welcomed us onto the stage.

"You better not screw up because you didn't get to warm up," Trè said.

"Would it kill you to be a bit nicer? You're such a curmudgeon," I replied, glaring at him.

"And now I would like to welcome to the stage our guest performers. These are four special people who kindly offered their talents to make this last song a smash hit. From the band _Silver Rain_, Thane on the bass, Zak on the trap set, and Trè and Kai on electric guitar!" Thane and Zak waved their hands around and struck poses like a couple of doofuses as we all entered the stage to polite applause from the audience. I firmly nudged the two to say 'move your asses.' Zak slid his way into the back to sit at his trap set (which was thankfully on a riser or else you couldn't see the twerp) while Trè and I stood in front on either side of the conductor. Thane positioned himself to my right ready to melt some faces. The room fell silent in anticipation. The conductor finally lifted his baton and gave the first down beat. Sound quickly filled the performance hall as winds and brass added to the strings. Finally, the guitars and drums entered as the music started to get exciting. It got even better when the vocalists started to sing.

The song went on for 7 minutes before it ended abruptly with the final chord. The concert hall erupted into tremendous applause as Trè and I took a bow. It was a standing ovation. The rest of the symphony stood and bowed as Trè, Thane, and I left for backstage only to be ushered out for a second bow. Some guy detached from the audience, climbed onto the stage, and handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I beamed as I left the stage for the final time. Walking into the private room set aside for me and the guys, I sat down and started to pack up my guitar. I smiled sadly at it as it would be one of the last times I would see it.

"That was awesome!" Thane exclaimed, kicking the door open and charging into the room. Zak wasn't far behind. He ran up to Thane and put him into a head lock. The two of them continued wrestling as Trè walked in.

"Break it up girl scouts. Some of us actually take care of our instrument," Trè sniffed as he reached for his case. Both Thane and Zak grabbed him from behind and pulled him to the ground. I snatched his guitar away as the three of them started to fight. Shaking my head, I put away his guitar and headed for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" Trè said, grabbing my foot before I could get out the door.

"Home," I stated, looking back. He instantly let go when he saw my expression. Zak and Thane stood and walked over.

"What's wrong?" Zack asked. "You look like you just lost your dog." I smiled back sadly.

"I'm just going to miss this place," I said.

"Where are you going?" Thane asked with a worried look.

"I have to go somewhere for awhile. I'm not sure when I'll be back." Actually, I didn't know if I was coming back. Cloud said that we would be training on a different world; one of their worlds. He also said it may be impossible to return here. I wasn't going to tell them that though. They would just worry, even Trè.

"Well," Trè said, rising from the ground. "We're just going to have to go out on the town tonight. One last hoorah before you leave."

"Right! Then we can throw you one when you get back!" Zak exclaimed. He looked just like a puppy right now as he smiled. I almost burst into tears. Instead, I composed my face into a smile.

"One last hoorah sounds great."

It was great. Pizza, the arcade, and a rave were the places we stopped. The guys wanted to drag me to a night club for some action, but I strictly refused. I wasn't going to get busted because I was underage. Finally, the guys dropped me off at my dorm around 3 am. Thane and Zak almost choked me to death with their vise like hugs. Trè gave me a surprise though when he slung his arm across by shoulders and planted a peck on my cheek. Zak hooted like a drunken idiot while Thane pulled him off and started to mock beat him. I laughed at their idiocy and walked into my dorm, climbing the three flights to my floor. I sighed when I looked at my watch and realized how late it actually was. I closed my eyes as I walked down the hall to my room and smacked right into Tidus.

"Kai! Where have you been? It's really late. I was worried." I blinked at him slowly.

"I love that fact that you just said 4 run-on sentences. It was cool." Tidus frowned at me as I swayed on my feet. He caught me by my arm before I fell down.

"What happened to you?" He asked, helping me walk down the hall. I frowned at the floor trying to form a thought.

"I remember…" Memories of the rave came to my mind. Loud music, flashing lights, lots of bodies rubbing together in harmonious dance and... My head snapped up as I remembered something. "That jackass!" I roared. Squall poked his head out of the door as we came close.

"You should keep it down. It's the middle of the night," he said, closing the door when we entered.

"What was with the outburst?" Cloud asked from his seat at my desk. He was reading one of my books again.

"Trè!" I yelled. "I am going to kill him!" I swayed as my head suddenly went fuzzy. Tidus caught me before I crashed to the floor and set me down on my bed.

"What are you talking about?" Zidane asked, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"That freak spiked my drink!" I collapsed onto the covers. "It must be some pretty strong stuff." I hiccupped. "I hope it wasn't drugs."

"What?" All four guys asked at once.

"The guys and I went to a rave tonight. That jerk did something with my drink. No wonder he was being so nice there." I rolled over onto my side and shucked my pants off. I proceeded to crawl under the covers and pull them over my head.

"Will you be alright?" Zidane asked concerned.

"I just need to sleep it off." The guys continued to talk amongst themselves as I quickly drifted off to sleep. If this was what my normal life is like, I wonder what my other life is going to be. I suppose I'll find out soon enough.


	5. Chapter 5

**I never realize how great it is to be healthy until I get sick. Being sick sucks.**

Chapter 5

"Kai, wake up." Zidane said, shaking my shoulder. I cracked one eye in his direction and shoved his hand away with an incoherent threat. I was tired and an explosive head ache was forming in the back of my skull. This was not the time to bother me. "Up, wings, up."

I shoved his hand away once more trying to decipher what he called me. Wings? Why should he call me…oh, right the tattoos. "Did you seriously just call me that?" I asked in disbelief. There was a reason I never showed anyone those.

"Yeah!" He exclaimed. "Everyone needs a cool nickname. Yours should exemplify your amazingly angelic personality." I chuckled at his sarcasm as I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head. Sleep good, activity bad.

"Up," Squall said, walking into the room and pulling the covers clean off the bed. I quickly pulled my knees up to my chest in a feeble attempt to keep in the heat. Needless to say it failed miserably. I glared at him and he glared back at me. "Training starts in 10 minutes out behind the house. Zidane, make sure she gets up."

"Yes sir," Zidane replied in a lazy salute. He turned to me as Squall exited the room. "You heard the commander, up."

I sat up and stretched, fingers extending and back cracking. I yawned and rubbed my eyes only to notice that this bed was too big to be the one in my dorm room. I looked around the room puzzled. Where was I? The room was an old fashioned Victorian room. The walls were made of oak wood and the windows were set with beautiful stained glass. The floor was covered by a large patterned rug. Pieces of wooden furniture littered the sides of the room and a fireplace was sitting unlit in front of the bed. I gazed up at the rich mahogany canopy above the bed.

"You finally noticed we aren't in your dorm room, huh?" Zidane smiled.

"Where are we?" I asked, blinking in puzzlement. "More importantly how did we get here?"

"We got here the same way Squall, Cloud, Tidus, and I arrived at your world."

"So, a portal. Like interdimentional time rifts and all that sci-fi crap."

"Nah. It has something to do with the crystals we have. You must have one too."

"Huh," I grunted, scratching my scalp. Crystals? "Second question…"

"Nope. It's time for you to get ready for training. Clothes are on the chair over there. I'll be back in 5 minutes to check if you're ready."

I looked at him with a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me stare. He smiled in response. "Would you like me to stay and help dress you," he said with a wink.

"Out!" I yelled throwing a pillow at him. He dodged the pillow and laughed as I looked for something more substantial to chuck at him. When the door closed, I looked down at my naked legs and decided the best course of action would be to dress. Clothes first, answers later. Clothes would also cover up the scars that ringed my legs. I may have healed from the fiend attack, but evidence still remained. I looked around the room and found some lying over the back of a beautifully carved wooden chair. I quickly jumped out of bed and picked up the black pants on top of the pile. I put them on and threaded a cyan and white checkered belt through the loops, fastening the belt in front. Next came the purple shirt that felt like silk. I doubt it was actual silk, but a girl can dream right? The shirt ended a bit below the waist so I had to tuck the extra material into my pants. The sleeves also ended just above the elbow, snuggly wrapping around my skin. I put on the black vest that seemed to go with the shirt. The vest was sleeveless, buttoning on the side instead of down the front with silver buttons and ended a few inches above my belt. Lastly, I shoved my feet into the calf-high brown boots with 3 buckles down each side. They buckled snuggly. I was just running my fingers through my hair when Zidane burst open the door. I'm surprised the wall didn't crack where the handle hit it.

"Feel free to barge in. You don't have to knock," I said sarcastically.

"I will, thanks," he replied with a smile. I rolled my eyes. "It's time for training, so hop to it!" Before I could reply, Zidane grabbed my hand and pushed me out the door. I traveled through a mahogany floored hallway, down an oak staircase, through the living room, and out the back door.

"Zidane, where are you…" my voice trailed off as I took in the sight in front of me. Forest; as far as the eye could see. It was lushes and green in color with a variety of tall hardwood trees. The leaves swayed from the slight breeze blowing through the valley. The vegetation rolled with the hills and climbed the mountain in the background. Mind you, it is a beautiful snow capped mountain with misty clouds obscuring the peak. There was even a visible waterfall flowing down the side. If I didn't know any better, I would have said this was Montana. However, seeing the strange creatures flying around, it definitely wasn't anywhere on Earth. I slowly walked to the center of the grassy area in front me where Squall and Cloud stood waiting. It was so quiet that I could hear the grass beneath my feet as I stepped on it. However, the calm feeling I had was ruined by the ball that flew a couple inches in front of my face. I leaned back in surprise and watched the ball as it flew to my left and smacked right into a tree. I swiveled to my right to see Tidus running towards me.

"Sorry! Sorry about that," he exclaimed, skidding to a halt before me. He leaned on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Sorry for what?! Almost crushing my face with a flying projectile?" I said halfway between anger and annoyance. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"No, no!" He said shaking his head and hands for emphasis. "I just…well you see…"

I tapped my foot waiting for an answer. Tidus stumbled over his words trying to explain as Zidane laughed hysterically behind us. The awkward moment ceased as Squall walked over.

"Enough idle chatter," he said before turning on his heel and walking back over to Cloud. I gave his back a quizzical look before Zidane and I followed. Tidus went to retrieve his ball before joining our happy circle.

"Sup, Master Chief?" I asked, cocking my head to the left and smiling. Squall frowned at my comment as I kept smiling away.

"Don't look so happy. You're going to learn how to fight today."

"Fight, huh. With what?"

"With this." He pulled out a sword from behind his back and tossed it at me. I snatched it from the air and pulled it out of its sheath. A scimitar? I gazed at its beautiful curved shape. The guard and pommel were gold and the guard was in an s-shape. The grip was a nice shiny black. I turned it around in my hands getting a feel for the shape and weight. I looked up to see Cloud holding a rolled up black cloth.

"What's that?" I asked, nodding at the cloth.

"Something to help you in battle," he replied, kneeling on the ground and rolling the cloth out to reveal a set of 6 small silver daggers. I bent down and scooped one up, tossing it end-over-end multiple times.

"Where am I going to carry all these weapons?"

"I'll help," Zidane said, perking up. Cloud rolled up the daggers and tossed it to Zidane. He caught it and fished out a two strap with one sheath on each. He clipped the straps in an X pattern to hidden buckles on the back of my vest. A dagger went into the sheath on each strap. He handed me two more straps and told me to loop them around my thighs. A dagger went on each leg. As I did that, he fixed two more daggers to the back of my belt, opposite of each other. Lastly, he clipped the sword to my left hip.

I groaned. "I feel like I gained 20 pounds. How am I supposed to fight with all this extra weight?"

"Muscle mass," Squall said. "You're going to gain some."

I groaned again. "Fine. What are we going to do?"

"Basic sword movement with me, advanced technique with Cloud, agility and defense with Zidane, and dagger skills with whatever else Tidus decides to throw in. Now let's go, we're burning daylight."

Exhaustion took me as soon as Squall called it quits for the night. I had just finished my lesson with Zidane. He taught me all about dodging, blocking, and how not to hurt yourself when you fall. I didn't realize that there was a special way to fall to avoid injury. And here I thought you could do that by just not falling in the first place. I gave a giant yawn and fell backwards onto the ground. (Using my skill to not hurt myself even!) I stretched on the ground trying to work out the knots in my back. It's surprising how heavy two daggers on your back can be. Before I could get any more comfortable, Cloud walked over and extended his hand.

"Don't sleep here. It's dangerous." I gave him an annoyed look and grasped his hand. He effortlessly hoisted me to my feet.

"Whoa. What can I do to get that strong? Even this 3 pound sword seems heavy right now," I said, placing my left hand on the pommel of the sword like Squall taught me.

"Hard work and perseverance. You'll get it at some point."

"Ouch," I winced. "Was that an insult?" He merely shrugged and headed towards the house. I quickly followed him, not wanting to be left alone in the dark in a strange forest on a strange planet. It's funny how this place looked charming during the day and evil at night. The caw from and unknown creature quickened my pace and I got inside the house twice as fast than normal.

"A little skittish?" Squall asked, shining his sword on the kitchen table.

"Not at all," I replied, placing my hands on my hips to seem braver. Truthfully, I was as scared as a mouse in a room full of cats. But I had a sword, so take that cats! The me inside my head laughed heartily with this little piece of information. I smiled despite the weird looks I received. Nothing could stop me now.

"BOOOO!" someone yelled from behind me. I screamed and seriously jumped 3 feet in the air. I landed on the table in a crouching position clutching the fabric above my heart. Tidus laughed as I wildly tried to catch my breath. The guys all began to laugh. I looked around, a red tint coming to my cheeks.

"You jerk!" I roared, whipping out a dagger from behind my back and hurling it at his face. He easily evaded it, laughing even harder. I pulled out another only to be stopped as Squall gripped my forearm. We glared at each other for a few seconds daring one another to look away first. Zidane interrupted our little match when he pulled the first dagger from the back door, where it stood embedded 4 inches in the wood quivering, and walked over.

"Bed time, Wings," he said, grabbing the second dagger from my hand and placing them both into their respective sheathes. "We don't need a shish kabobed Tidus."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me down from the table. "Next time it won't be a shish kabob Tidus. I'm going to make a Tidus pincushion!" He grinned and pulled me out of the room.

"Make sure she takes a potion. We need her fresh for tomorrow," Cloud stated, poking his head into the hallway.

"Potion?" I asked, throwing my weight backwards to stop Zidane. I spun him around like a ballerina when he started to lose his balance. It was fun because he was so small.

"Care to dance?" He replied, stopping his twist and bowing low. He straightened up and offered his hand like a prince.

"Maybe when you grow up, kid."

"I'm older than you." He took a step forward; his hand still out.

"Older yes, taller no. Gain some height and you've got a deal."

"I'll be sure to remember that." He winked and led me upstairs to my bedroom. Before we got there, he opened a cabinet right outside my door and pulled out a green bottle with a curly stopper that had an outstretched wing on one side of it.

"What is th-"

"Potion," he said cutting me off.

"What does it d-"

"Heals any injury and revitalizes energy. You'll feel right as rain tomorrow."

I grabbed the bottle and surveyed it. "Did you really say right as rain?"

"Drink it."

"Well, only if you insist." I pulled the stopper out and downed the bottle in a few gulps. A swirling blue-green light enveloped me and I immediately felt better. All the aches and pains from a day of brutal training mysteriously evaporated. I looked at the bottle again and glared at it.

"What's with the look?"

"Why didn't you guys have one of these when those wolf fiends attacked me! "

"We didn't have any on us." He shrugged and pointed to my room. He must mean for me to go in. I sighed in defeat and entered, closing the door behind me. Before I got even halfway across the room, a knock sounded at my door.

"Training starts at 7AM sharp. Be ready," Zidane yelled through the door before walking away. I shuffled to the door and twisted the lock.

"7AM my ass. I'll get up when I want to get up." I walked back to my bed discarding all clothing, except underwear and weapons, along the way. I laid my sword and daggers on the chair and picked up the shirt I arrived here in. Tugging it on, I jumped onto my bed and buried myself under the covers. I groaned as I realized I forgot to turn off the lights. Forgoing getting up, I grabbed a funny looking stone that was on my nightstand. It was about the size of my palm and red. It kinda looked like a mini soccer ball. I sat up and chucked it at the light switch. The thing smashed into the lever and the lights went out. I smiled at my aim and curled up to retain heat. Tonight I was going to sleep well.

* * *

I was having this wonderful dream. I was lying on the softest patch of grass known to man. This stuff seriously felt like Egyptian Cotton or a pool full of feathers. In one hand I held a marshmallow and in the other a 2 foot long fondue fork. To my right was a river full of molten chocolate. It was very Wonka-esk in a delicious way. I speared the marshmallow onto the fork and dipped it in the river; all from the safety of my grass patch. Lifting the fork up, I saw that is was covered in dark, sensual, decadent chocolate. I smacked my lips in the anticipation of delicious treats. Before I could lift the marshmallow to my mouth, the ground shook with enough force to make me drop my fork into the river. I crawled to the edge of the bank and looked woefully into the dark waters. I lost my food. The ground shook again, distracting me from my predicament. These weren't any ordinary tremors though. They had sort of a rhythm to them. Three shakes and a pause. Then three more. During the pauses, I heard a soft voice blow in on the sweet breeze. I could only hear snippets amidst the flailing leaves and wafts of chocolate smell. Something about "Kai" and "up." Or maybe it was "move" and "butt kicking." Whatever it was, it was very distracting. I just wanted food dipped in chocolate.

I ignored the breeze and started searching for another fork and more treats. Instead, I found a giant hole in the ground in front of me. It looked too much like the hole Alice fell through on her way to Wonderland, so I decided to back up and get away from it. However, the ground shook so much that it jolted me into the hole. I screamed as the air whipped around my face, jerking my air up on end. Every hole has a bottom and I didn't want to feel the bottom of this one. I squeezed my eyes shut and curled up into a ball hoping for something to break my fall. Suddenly, it all stopped and I snapped up in bed. Breathing wildy, I looked around the room clutching my blankets with enough force to tear small holes in the fabric. Everything seemed in order. No rushing wind, no giant black holes, and sadly no chocolate rivers. I stuck out my bottom lip in a pout. I wanted chocolate.

The pounding at the door diverted my attention from dream to reality. Mild threats drifted through the door as Squall hammered away. I scooted myself to the edge of the bed and rubbed my eyes to get the sleep out. It felt too early to get up. Lightly running across the room, I unlocked the door and poked my head out to confront a less than pleased Squall.

"What?!" I demanded, keeping most of my body behind the door. I only had underwear and a t-shirt on. The guys didn't always have to see my naked legs.

"Have you been sleeping this whole time? Training started a half hour ago."

"Training can wait. Some of us actually need sleep to function properly. Judging your habits, I bet you don't even sleep."

"Are you going to get dressed, or am I going to have to come in there and do it myself?"

"Jeeze! You're as lecherous as Zidane!" Squall stared me down with the get-your-ass-moving look and walked away.

"If you're not down in 5 minutes, I'll send Zidane in after you."

"Ooooo, scary," I said, closing the door and looking around for my pants. Spotting them halfway across the room, I walked over and put them on. Next came the shirt and vest, followed by boots and weapons. After I got them all on, and feeling much heavier because of it, I walked back to the door. Time for another day of "strength training" and "battle practice." Yikes! I never asked to be a warrior. Before I opened the door, something shiny caught my eye. It was the red stone I chucked at the light switch last night. I bent down and picked it up. It was very pretty and looked valuable. Maybe I shouldn't have been so rough with it. Before I could think anymore on the subject, a voice sounded in my head.

_Whenever you are close to death, I will come and bring you back._

I jumped at the sound and looked around the room. No one was there. Besides, the voice didn't even sound human. It must be coming from the rock. "I don't want to be close to death. I don't even want to be close to injury."

_Will you accept my assistance?_

"Um, yeah. Sure." I jutted my hand out as the rock started to glow. The light grew brighter and brighter before the rock broke apart all together and swirled around me. It seemed to fade into a mist and enter my body. In a few seconds, it all stopped.

"Whoa," I said, twisting around to see if anything was different. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Zidane asked, pushing open the door and walking into my room.

"Nothing." I swiveled around and flashed him an innocent smile. He lifted one eyebrow in response.

"What's taking so long?" Tidus questioned, bounding into the room.

"Gosh, kid. Where do you get all that energy from? If you have any Red Bull, please feel free to share." I followed his movements as he walked around and stretched, that darned ball of his always in his hands.

"Everybody asks me that. And what's Red Bull?" He smiled and started twirling the ball on the tip of his pointer finger. Show off.

"Uh, nothing. So, what are you guys doing here?"

"Making sure you get down to practice," Zidane replied, grabbing my hand and pulling me through the door. Tidus followed behind to make sure I didn't run for it. Before Zidane could pull me out of the house, I forcibly stopped him in the kitchen.

He looked back with a questioning look. "What?"

"I'm hungry. No supper last night, remember?" Zidane walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a drink about the size of a coke bottle.

"A breakfast fit for a princess." He shoved the bottle into my hand and pushed me out the door.

"Don't be a smart-ass." I pulled the stopper out as I walked and downed the whole thing in a few gulps. What? Dreaming about chocolate made me hungry. Actually, the drink tasted like a mix of watermelon and citrus. It was quite refreshing and filled me up completely. I stopped in front of Squall and started fiddling with the bottle. Squall swiped it from my hands and looked at it. Tossing it behind him, it hit a tree trunk and shattered.

"You don't have to litter," I replied, looking around him at the shards of glass lying on the grass. I gave myself a quick reminder not to piss Squall off because he definitely looked in a bad mood today. Or was that every day? I couldn't tell because his mouth was always set in a grim line. He jerked his chin toward Cloud.

"Your training starts now." Cloud pulled his giant sword from off his back and stood in a battle ready position. I unsheathed my scimitar and did likewise. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

I crashed to the ground several hours later, trying to steady my wild breath and shaking hands. Cloud practically hammered me out of existence with his brutal training session. The other three guys did nothing to help me either. Zidane and Tidus got all wrapped up in some competition and Squall sat and observed my technique. He solemnly gave me criticism and tips on how to improve my fighting, but mostly the criticism part. I know he's just trying to help but damn. Can't he be any nicer? As I mentally ranted, Cloud came over and sat down next to me.

"Good session," he stated, gazing up at the clouds. Hee hee, Cloud looked at clouds. I started to giggle but forced myself to stop. If I was getting loopy, that meant I wasn't getting enough oxygen. I urgently slowed my breaths. As I started to breath normally, I realized that he just gave me a compliment. I like compliments.

"But you need a lot of work," he finished. My happy compliment tower came crashing down with that tid-bit of information.

"Give her a break," Tidus said, executing a series of midair flips to smash a flying ball back to Zidane. They must be playing some sort of game. "She worked hard."

"Only working hard isn't going to cut it," Squall said, walking over and leaning against the tree I was laying under. "She needs to improve."

"I did improve!" I exclaimed, sitting up. "I can defend myself now. I pretend died a lot less today."

"Did you ever go on the offensive?"

"Yeah!"

"Successfully?"

I fidgeted. "No."

"Then you have room for improvement."

I scoffed at him. "What are you, my gym coach? 'Give 110% every time you get on that field,'" I quoted in my gym teacher's goofy voice. I figured out long ago that those who can't do, teach; and those that can't teach, teach gym.

"You should give one hundred percent every time you battle," Cloud said.

Squall nodded in agreement. "That's right. Because if you don't you could die."

"I don't need to be reminded of that," I muttered, lifting my legs into the air and twitching my feet. The scars on those legs are enough to prove it. Before I could wallow in anymore of my self-pity, the ball Tidus was playing with whizzed through the air and crashed right into my legs. The force of hit was so great I toppled over sideways.

"Owww," I whimpered, my legs going numb. Sitting up, I rubbed my bruised legs to get some of the feeling back. I looked up to see Tidus and Zidane running towards me.

"Sorry, sorry!" Tidus was yelling at the top of his lungs.

"We really didn't mean to hit you," Zidane said guiltily. I glared at them both, grabbed the ball off the ground, and threw it with all my might. It hit Tidus square in the stomach. He doubled over in pain and coughed.

"Serves you right," I huffed, standing up and stalking off. Why am I always the stupid punching bag around here? Can't these people find anyone else to massacre?

"How marvelous," I strange voice said from behind me. I whirled around to see someone materialize from mid air. Seriously, materialize. He was a tall man with gold and purple armor, a purple and white cape, blonde hair with a freakish sort of pointy crown, and a scepter of gold and black. With all the gold, I would say he is gaudy. With the purple mixed in, I would say he is gay. He certainly looked the part. He gazed at me with cold, diabolical eyes that saw me as just a tool. I was starting to get pissed at him already. I looked to the guys for an explanation on who he was, but they were all looking at him in a murderous fashion. The strange guy smirked in satisfaction. "If you kill each other now, it would save me much time in finding the crystals."

"Emperor, what the hell are you doing here?!" Tidus yelled, slicing his hand through the air.

"Why, I am just here to meet Kai. Rumors of her arrival have reached my ears. It would be rude of me not to welcome her," he said spreading his arms.

"Just get out of here," Cloud growled, drawing his sword.

"Now, where are your manners?" One minute the Emperor stood floating in the air the next he was gone. Everyone looked around the clearing trying to find him. I figured out that he was behind me the second he wrapped his sleazy gold and purple covered arm around my waist. I screamed in surprise as he jumped up into the air and hovered there.

"Kai!" The guys shouted in unison. They started to run towards us.

"Don't be alarmed. I am merely borrowing her and her powers. You can have her back when I'm done." He started to laugh evilly as a black smoke surrounded us. I squirmed and kicked trying to break free, but he was too strong for me to break his grip. I saw Zidane lunge for me with his hand outstretched before the Emperor and I disappeared into the darkness. I yelled for Zidane and the others over and over.

"Quiet, woman," the Emperor said, smacking me on my head. I growled in anger and pulled a dagger from behind my back. I plunged it into my captor's hand in an attempt at freedom. He howled in pain and released me. Keeping a hold on my weapon, I fell through the swirling darkness we were traveling through. I screamed in terror not knowing how high I was or if I was going to survive the fall. The absolute darkness swirling suddenly vanished and I plunged to the earth below. My last thought was please, please don't let me die. My prayers were cut short when I hit the ground and the world went black.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to all who gave me reviews. I really enjoy reading them. Onwards to the story!**

Chapter 6

"Hello? Hellooo," a girl called, her voice echoing.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you think she's okay?" Another high pitched voice asked. It didn't sound like a girl though. Maybe a boy, before puberty? Ugh, my head hurt.

"Let's flip her over." My eyes snapped open. I was laying face down on hard rock ground. I shivered, realizing I was cold. This ground was freezing. Pushing myself onto my knees, I wrapped my arms around my body and shuddered. My teeth chattered as I looked up.

"No flipping," I replied shaking. "I'm not a pancake. However, pancakes sound pretty good right now." There were two people in front of me; a boy and girl. Ha! I knew it was a boy, and a short boy at that. He only came up to the girl's chest. He was also very colorful but mostly in red. Red shorts, red on his shoes, red armor, and a red hat. There were many jewels faceted to his clothing which made him sparkle like a rainbow. His hat had a really cool white plum of feathers on his blonde hair.

The girl also had blonde hair in a ponytail. Damn, is everyone blonde here? She had on a red mini dress with white leggings underneath and a multicolored scarf tied around her waist. There were also some freaky pointy heels and red arm gloves. Both of them wore capes. The better to suck you into jet engines with, my dear.

"Nice hat, kid," I said, standing up and rubbing my arms for warmth.

"Um, thanks?" he replied warily. I grinned and he gave me a funny look.

"Where am I?"

"Who are you?"

"Hey, I asked first!"

"My question is more important."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

I frowned and crossed my arms in annoyance. Who was this saucy little butt munch? "Fine. If your question is so important, then who are _you?_"

"I asked first."

"Too bad. I'm older." We puffed up and stared at each other daring the other to move first.

"Do we really need to fight?" the girl asked.

"She started it," the boy replied, pointing at me.

I grinned and laughed. "You act just like the kids I had to take care of once. Fourth graders!"

"Hey, don't laugh at me," he stomped. I held my laughter in; shoulders shaking with the effort.

"Guys?" The girl practically whispered. The kid and I shut up to listen. "How about I go first. I'm Terra. Pleased to meet you." She stuck her hand out in greeting. I gratefully took it.

"Names Kai." I turned my head and gave the boy a polite, evil smile. Like when you go up against one of those math geeks in chess and they give you that grin every time you make a mistake and lose. That's when I grab the guy's king and snap it in half making myself the winner. He frowned then gave me the same smile.

"They call me the Onion Knight."

I raised one eyebrow. "Onion Knight?"

"It's an illustrious title, I know. Most people will never even come close to-"

"I'll just call you kid." I could tell this guy was cocky. I guess I'll just have to push him down a few notches. The kid was about to give some high and mighty comment when Terra placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"That's a beautiful necklace," she said, flicking her eyes from the kid, to my necklace, and back. He peered closely at my neck and smiled. I gave them both a funny look and fingered my necklace. It's an amethyst gem inset into silver in the shape of a crescent moon. Engraved on the back are three strange characters.

"Thank you. Why are you guys smiling at me?"

"You don't know?" The kid asked.

"Know what?"

"That you are-"

"Very special to have such a nice necklace," Terra interrupted. The kid looked up at Terra who gave him a stern look back. He nodded and smiled at me. I gave them both quizzical looks. "Are you still cold?"

I frowned at the kid. "What were you going to say?"

"Nothing at all," he replied. My frown deepened. "What are you not telling me?"

"Don't worry about it. Here," he stretched out his hand, palm up, and fire burst up from it. I stumbled back in surprise and fell flat on my butt.

"How…how did you do that?!"

"Magic." He smiled and squatted near me letting the warmth seep into my bones. I kneeled and put my hands up near the flame to warm them.

"Now all we need are some marshmallows. Maybe then I can pull out my guitar and sing Kumbayah while holding hands and eating granola."

"Don't get smart with me," he said, slowly pulling his hand away.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I yelled, grabbing his arm and pulling it closer. "I like your fire."

"That's more like it." I frowned at him but kept warming my hands. This magic stuff actually worked! Terra walked over and knelt beside me.

"Can you do magic?" She asked concerned.

"No. I just recently learned swordsmanship and the guys didn't have time to teach me anything else."

"The guys?"

"Yeah. Squall, Cloud, Zidane, and Tidus. Do you know them?"

"Yes." I waited for her to elaborate, but she said nothing. Shrugging it off, I scooted closer to the flames.

"Do you want to learn magic?" The kid asked smiling.

"You're offering to teach me?"

"Of course!"

"Well, I can't deny such a generous offer."

He smiled. He really is very cute when he smiles, in a boyish way. "Then let's move to a more spacious area. I don't want to get scorched when you screw up."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." The kid and Terra laughed and walked down the tunnel cavern we were in. I call it a tunnel cavern because it is too large to be a tunnel but too small to be a cavern. It was dark, dank, wet, and filled with hard, sharp rocks. It would be nice to go somewhere else, preferably with soft ground that I could take a nap on. Getting kidnapped, escaping, and being knocked unconscious makes a girl tired.

"Come on, Kai. Hurry it up!" The kid shouted, already halfway down the tunnel. I hustled to catch up. Before long, the tunnel cavern opened up into a monstrous area. It was a giant cave with the ceiling so high all I could see was blackness. Two rows of rock pillars stretched as far as the eye could see. Some went to the ceiling while others were only a few feet off the ground. The air shimmered with little white orbs the size of my thumbnail. I reached my hand up to touch some of the orbs and quickly pulled it back when the stuff touched my skin and disappeared.

"What is this stuff?" I asked, waving my hand in front of me to clear the area of white.

"It's called Force," Terra said.

"Force?"

"It's a type of floating energy. Whenever you start to run out of energy during a battle, grabbing a bunch of this Force will replenish you," the kid clarified. "Because of the Force this area is a great place to practice magic."

"Oh really," I said, grabbing a fist of Force. It was absorbed immediately into my skin. I did feel a bit replenished. "How much does it take to revive your energy?"

"Depends on how much you released to begin with. Now, ready to learn fire?"

"Fire?"

"Yes, fire. Must I repeat myself?"

"Don't get snippy. Just tell me what to do."

"Okay, first sit down." I plopped down right where I was. No sense in going to him when he could come to me. "Now, close your eyes."

I snickered. "How many times have I heard that?" Whenever I was with a guy, he would always tell me to close my eyes. I usually did and slapped him with my eyes closed when he tried to kiss me afterward. The kid pursed his lips.

"After you close your eyes, look deep into your body. Integrate yourself into the energy that flows through you." I did what I was told. I closed my eyes and looked inside me. First, there was nothing but the darkness. After I searched myself for a few seconds, I spotted something. It looked like a river of flowing white blue energy. It seemed to course everywhere around me. I touched the area with my mind and found myself empowered with a strange energy.

"After you find it, imagine holding just a bit of it. A tiny cup. Use the energy and create fire." I took a small piece of the energy river and tugged it out. I imagined this energy being fuel. I desired for fire to burst forth but nothing happened. I frowned in displeasure.

"Imagine that you are rubbing two sticks together. The energy you hold will be the spark need to create a blaze. Concentrate." I wrinkled my eyebrows and tried again. This time, the energy I had burst forth. I opened my eyes to see a jet of flame flowing from my palms in front of me. I squeaked and closed the connection to my inner river. The kid and Terra stood several feet away with wide eyes.

"What? Did I spontaneously combust or something?"

"Was that your first time wielding any sort of magic?" Terra asked.

"Yeah. Did I do okay?"

"Better than okay!" The kid shouted. "You did great!"

"Yes," Terra agreed. "But you need to learn how to control that magic."

"Oops," I said, rubbing the back of my head and smiling.

"Now, let's try this again with more control."

* * *

The session lasted for hours. Whenever I started to feel exhausted, I walked around the cavern and picked up as much Force as I could. I must have done this 10 or more times. Even though I was filled with energy after each walk, I could feel myself become stretched. I realized Force was not a long term replenishment, but a quick jolt. It was like an energy drink. You feel great for a couple hours then you crash. Each time I loaded up on Force, it took more and more of it to work. After the kid taught me the basics of fire, he taught me how to control thunder. After thunder, Terra took over and taught me water and blizzard. I excelled rapidly at each task. What took them months to master took me hours. By this time, I knew I was not who I thought I was. I was not Kai Ashford, college student and aspiring physician. I was someone new, and I was powerful.

Once I could successfully shoot ice chunks at a pillar without hitting Terra or the kid, they both deemed me proficient enough in the basics of magic and rewarded me with permission to sleep. I gave a very long and loud sigh before falling backwards onto the ground and falling asleep within five seconds of my head hitting the ground.

My dream started out nice enough. I was back home jamming with the guys. Trè kept shooting Thane, Zak, and I verbal insults and we shot him back with rubber bands and other assorted items. They were pestering me to sing when the world suddenly began to contort. Everything shifted from vibrant colors to black, white, and gray. The world twisted like it was in a wormhole, and I had a front row seat. As quickly as it started, it stopped. I wasn't standing in the recital hall anymore; I was standing in front of a giant castle. It was a beautiful white castle with towers of brilliant blue and gray stones. Violet flags waved from many turrets and buttresses. Each had a symbol just like the one on my necklace. I slowly turned in a circle and saw that the castle was surrounded by a bustling town. People walked here and there, trading for goods at local vendors or shops, laughing hardily with the castle guards, and performing wonderful plays or tricks in the street. I smiled knowing this all felt very familiar. I felt…at home…at peace.

I blinked and it was all gone. Where once a happy town with productive people stood, now sat in ruins. The houses were on fire or in crumpled heaps of rubble. People screamed all around me. God, the screams. I heard people gasping for breath, people begging for their lives, people dying. Monstrous creatures ran through the streets tearing the towns folk to shreds, destroying lives. Tears poured down my face. All this destruction. Why? Who could have done this. I heard one scream above all the rest. An unearthly shriek of pain and sorrow no other could match. I ran towards the castle. Not even realizing I was running on water or through walls, I sprinted through the castle towards the screams. I arrived in a room. Judging by the appearance it was the royal nursery. Several dark shadows hovered around a woman who huddled in a corner. Tears streamed down her face as she clutched desperately to a baby in her arms. She babbled incoherently and tried to shield the baby from the people in front of her. One of the shadows bent over and tried to force the baby from the woman's hands. She suddenly stopped babbling and glared at the shadows.

"You will not have her. You will not have my child!" She yelled putting out her hand and unleashing a wind attack so powerful it pushed the shadows back several feet. One of them detached from the group to stand in front of the woman.

"You cannot hope to defeat us. We will have the child and with it we will create a new world. A world fit for my rule!" He laughed a dark, sinister laugh. As he laughed, the others joined in.

"No!" She screamed. She stood, child cradled the crook of her arm, and began chanting in a strange language. As she chanted, the air around her began to glow a bright gold. The shadows started to shout in concern but couldn't get any closer than they were. It was as if a force was holding them back. The woman pulled a necklace from around her neck and put it around the baby's. The necklace was an amethyst crescent moon. She kissed the child's forehead and held it above her head. With the final word, a blinding light shone throughout the room. I shaded my eyes. When I looked back, everything was turning a gray color. I was forcibly pushed from the image as I heard one final scream from the woman. The world whipped around me as I tried to gain some sort of balance. I felt as though I was in a wind tunnel unable to escape. Then, I was falling. Falling through pitch black, wind rushing all around me. I closed my eyes waiting for the impact.

Just as I hit the floor, I jolted up panting heavily. I frantically looked around for any sign of the woman I just saw. The only thing there was Terra and the kid quietly talking a few feet away. I wiped the sweat from my brow and stood up. I went through a routine of stretches my gym coach taught me to loosen up my suddenly stiff muscles. I guess those magic lessons took more out of me than I thought. As I walked over to Terra and the kid, Force slowly entered my body. It replenished my zapped strength and left me refreshed. By the time I reached my companions, I felt as good as new. I sat down beside them and smiled.

"Are you okay?" Terra asked with a look of worry on her face.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem kind of pale."

I waved my hand in the air, brushing off her comment. "Your lessons must have really taken it out of me. Slave driver." She smiled tentatively but let it go.

"We were just discussing where to go next," the kid explained. "Terra and I are both looking for the crystals, but you are more than welcome to join us in our search."

"Yeah," I smiled. "With some luck, I'll get better at my magic."

"Luck has nothing to do with it," Terra said.

"It's all in the practice," the kid finished. "You'll get better."

"Maybe I'll be better than you someday." I wolfishly grinned at him.

"That'll be the day."

"Don't think I can do it?"

"Ha. I could take you with one hand behind my back."

"Ohh, scary. Especially since you only need one hand to cast a spell." We all laughed at the kid and my banter. Too much actually. It must have been all the stress I was under, but I found this conversation very funny. I hid my face in my hands trying to shield how red I was getting. It was embarrassing to laugh so hard you turned red.

"Oh, what do we have here?" A deep, womanly voice said from behind me. The kid, Terra, and I jumped up at the same time to face the new threat. There wasn't one, but three people standing not 10 feet away. Well, one standing and two floating. The one standing was some freaky clown dude. Really! He had a white face, purple lips, and a weird costume of sorted colors and fabrics. It looked like a fabric store just hurled on him. The other guy was a floating gay-man. He must have been to wear something as creepy as that. He had on a short black jacket that was open to reveal part of his chest. He wore…something… over his privates that looked suspiciously like a fancy sports cup. Black, frilly boots reached only up to mid thigh and he had on something that looked like a robe with the back cut out. So he had the sleeves and the part that went from waist to the floor. His hair was long and silver with a feather sticking out of it. Truthfully, he was very distracting.

To decrease the risk of my eyes burning out of their sockets from gay-lord, I turned to the last of the party, a floating woman. Good God! She only wore enough clothing to make it legal. There was a little bit of red, ripped cloth to cover her lower region and some black cloth that wrapped around her back to cover her breasts. She wore black arm gloves attached to a red and black cape. Her hair was long silver and two little snake head things projected from her back. They waved here and there snapping at the air. Okay, now I was mentally scarred. I don't think my eyes will ever be the same again.

"A couple of brats, and a princess," the woman finished. My eye twitched from annoyance.

"Why does everyone say I'm a princess? Stop calling me that!" I yelled, unsheathing my sword.

"Oh my, it seems like you've made our little friend angry," the creepy floating man said. "Whatever shall we do?"

"Let's play!" the clown interjected. "Let's play and destroy the world with their power!" He started to laugh hysterically and bounce around on the balls of his feet.

"You!" I shouted to the gay-lord. "You're not my friend. And you," I pointed to the clown guy, "will not destroy anything with anybody's power."

The three newcomers started to laugh in a maniacal way. I twirled my sword around to relieve some of my pent up anger. These guys are cruisin' for a bruisin'.

"Stop laughing at her!" Terra shouted, balling up her fists. It was the most assertive I've ever seen her. "What do you want?"

"Want? Want?! Why, I want to destroy the world. And you're going to help me do it!" The clown man shouted at us. He jumped into the air and started to run at us like a 40's cartoon character. "You'll be the first to help!"

"No, Kefka, I won't help you!" Terra said, shooting a blast of ice to drive him off course. He released one of his fire attacks and leaped in front of Terra.

"Let the party begin!" He shot a blast of air at Terra sending her flying backwards. He ran up to catch her and they began fighting with complex spells.

"Terra!" the kid shouted, drawing his sword and running toward her. Before he made it 10 steps, the woman appeared in front of him.

"Get out of my way, Cloud of Darkness."

"Foolish boy. Will you fight us to save her or will you run away?"

"I…"

"You can't fight us. You'll never win."

"I won't lose! I will protect everyone with my strength!"

"Everyone? When it comes down to the end, who will you save? The esper, or the princess?" I clutched my sword tighter. Why does everyone keep calling me that! Is it just to annoy me, or is it something deeper. I have no idea! I want to know dammit! The kid and woman started to fight before I could voice my grievances against her. Fine, I'll just ask her after the kid beats her to a bloody pulp. I watched the action for a few seconds before remembering there was a guy standing behind me. I turned and got a face full of his bare stomach.

"Ah geez dude. Cover up will ya?" I backed up a couple of paces and put up my hand to shield my eyes.

"What's the matter, Kai? Can't stand my brilliance?"

"More like your stupidity, and who are you anyway?"

"My name is Kuja. I have come to take you away."

"Away to where exactly?"

"Why, to oblivion! Your powers are just what we need to return this world to the void."

"The void? Great. The world could use some of that."

"Aww, how sarcastic you are." I gripped my sword tighter and slid into a battle ready stance.

"As much as I like talking to you, I'd like to leave with my friends. I have questions and plan to beat the answers out of them later."

"Figuratively or literally?"

"One of those."

"Oh, I do hope it's literally. That would save me the trouble of having to deal with them."

"You remind me of the floating gold man. What was his name…the Emperor?"

Kuja scoffed. "How could I ever remind you of that man? I am far superior to him."

"Oh really?"

"Enough! You will come with me." I stuck out my tongue at him and laughed. "Intolerable little child! If you're not careful, this might be your last symphony."

"Music allusions. How I do love those." I winked at him and launched my first attack. He twirled in the air, summoning 5 little white balls of energy and blocked my attack with them. Laughing, he launched them at me, followed by 3 rings of golden energy. I easily dodged the balls and tried to block against the rings. I blocked two but the third caught the side of my arm. It sent me sprawling.

"Not very powerful. I expected more from you my dear girl."

"Shut up, gay-lord." I stood up, holding my arm in the air, and summoned thunder. It crashed down from the ceiling 5 inches to his left.

"Damn." I muttered, pulling out two daggers and flicking them at him. He laughed and dodged them easily. I smirked, twisted my hand, and summoned the daggers back. He turned just in time for them to smash into his chest.

"Yes!" I said, clenching my hand into a fist of happiness. "I hit him."

"Oh. Where these supposed to hurt?" Kuja asked, turning around and holding my daggers by their blades. I frowned and caught them as he tossed them back. "You must try harder, Kai. You'll never win at this rate."

"Bugger off," I said, sending him a giant fire ball in return. He blocked it with his energy balls. He proceeded to summon black and purple energy around himself. That didn't look too good. I ran up and tried to hack away at him before he could launch an attack. I didn't make it in time though. I really need to work on my speed. He sent his energy at me just as I got within hitting range. It steamrolled me into a pillar 10 feet behind me. I landed with a thunk on the ground and coughed up some blood. I shook my head and wiped away the blood that dribbled down from my mouth.

"Good one," I said, trying to stand up. Kuja glided over and shoved his foot into my stomach keeping me down.

"There is no need for you to get up."

"The hell there is!" I shoved my palm into his face and let off the most powerful thunder spell I could muster. He screamed as the thunder hit his face, smashing him to the ground.

"Impossible," Kuja wheezed, clutching his face. "How could I be defeated?"

Darkness seeped up from the ground and surrounded Kuja. He gave a long sigh and disappeared. In his place sat a golden crystal, hovering a few feet off the ground.

"Ohhh, so this is a crystal." I reached up to grab it only to be sucked into a portal. I glanced behind me to see the fight between the good and bad guys before the portal closed. I whirled around and clutched the crystal tightly. I don't know where it'll take me, but I bet I won't like it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry it's been so long since my last update. School is a pain and my writing course has me writing...a lot. Hope you enjoy this installment! **

Chapter 7

It stopped. Thank God it finally stopped. The gut churning, nausea inducing waves of color and spinning sensation ended when I slammed in to solid ground. Groaning, I lifted my head from the ground to discover the 'crystal' in my hand smashed into a thousand shards.

"Just peachy," I growled, getting to my knees and coughing. My stomach really took a beating from that portal thing. I wiped my mouth and looked up. Where the hell is this? It looked like the world turned gold. I was kneeling on a long, wide platform made of some sort of golden crystal. Not trusting myself to stand, I crawled to the edge of the platform. Crystal pillars jutted up from swirling gray clouds that obscured the bottom. How far was it to the bottom? I'm not sure I wanted to find out. Not only were there tall pillars everywhere, chunks of rock large enough to stand on floated in mid air. Floated! Now I've seen everything. I crawled away from the edge and slowly got to my feet. The world seemed to tilt and I bent over to keep all the blood from rushing out of my head. Fainting now wouldn't be the best idea. When the world finally righted itself, I stood up fully and breathed in the air.

"All right. I have to get out and find some allies." I took two steps forward and stopped in my tracks when I heard a strange noise. It sounded like two rough rocks grating against each other.

"That can't be good." I turned around to find the pillars of golden crystals glowing a sparkly white color. Glowing is never good. The grating sound got louder and the pillars started to generate new crystals. They were coming right at me! Shit! I rolled to the side just as a row of pillars zoomed my way. It missed me by inches. I started to run alongside the row but skidded to a halt when a pillar jutted up from the platform's surface. Good God. It must have been 2 stories high. I turned to run the other way but was stopped by another pillar coming up from nowhere. The crystals were trying to box me in!

"You'll never take me alive!" I yelled, running to the edge of the platform and jumping off before a pillar could enclose me. I landed on the top of another one as it burst skyward. I held onto it for dear life, praying it would stop soon. As soon as it stopped growing, I jumped from it onto a floating rock. It wiggled a bit but held my weight. The pillars started to rise up in a circle around the rock. No way was I going to be locked in by spastically sprouting pieces of oxide mineral! Listen to me. Fighting for freedom and I'm naming the specific category of a fancy rock. Well, my chemistry teacher would be proud. My internal monologue was interrupted by a pillar smashing the rock I was standing on. I pulled a dagger from my leg sheath and dug it into the side of the crystal as I fell. It slowed me down enough so when I reached the rock ledge below, I didn't smash my feet. I pulled my dagger free only for more pillars to grow around me.

"For God's sake, stop it!" I yelled jumping onto a pillar as it grew. I hopped from rock to pillar and back trying to keep myself from being trapped by the stuff. This was getting me nowhere. I would rather fall into the cloudy chasm of mystery than be crushed by germinating jewelry-to-be. With this in mind, I looked over the edge of the extremely tall pillar I was perched on and took a deep breath. Time for the plunge. I inhaled, bent my knees, and exhaled as I jumped from the pillar. The wind rushed around my face as I closed my eyes. If there was a floor a few feet under the mist, I would rather not see it. My plummet abruptly ended as someone hooked their arm around my waist and continued their ascent. The wind was knocked out of me from the sudden change in altitude. I gasped for breath as whoever-it-was set me down on the platform. I glanced up to see a brown haired male pull out a pair of swords that looked suspiciously like Zidane's. He wore gray and blue loose boots, gray and white tights (heehee; a guy wearing tights), a gold belt over a blue cloth that wrapped around his waist, a light blue tank top, golden armor on his left shoulder, and a blue cape that looked like one of my grandma's old blankets. All in all, he looked weird yet decent. Better than gay-lord or barely legal girl.

"Need a little help?" he asked, flashing me a boyish smile. I lifted my arm and pointed behind him.

"Freaky growing rock, twelve o' clock."

He turned around to find the gold crystals starting to enclose us. Twirling the swords around in his hands, he started to spin himself in a very fast circle. He went so fast that he lifted up a few feet off the ground. His swords connected with the crystal pillars and they shattered into tiny dust particles. Landing back on the ground, the twin swords flashed a brilliant white and were replaced with a sword that looked like Cloud's. He swung the massive blade as a row of pillars shot towards us. The entire row that extended at least 30 feet back exploded into dust. The dust lazily floated to the ground around us. The loud grating noise stopped and the world went quiet. I stood up and looked at him.

"Cool," I said smiling.

"Whoa, what a rush!" he replied, grinning. His swords disappeared into thin air and he put his fists onto either side of his hips in a victory pose.

"Rush of adrenaline, maybe."

"I know. Feels good doesn't it."

"If you like that heart-in-your-throat-we're-going-to-die feeling."

"Exciting, isn't it?"

I gave him a tired smile, put my hands over my eyes, and flipped them open multiple times while making a coo-coo clock sound.

"Awww, that's mean."

"Sorry." I stopped the action and rubbed the back of my head. "It's been a long day."

"I'm Bartz," he said, extending his hand in greeting. It took it.

"Kai."

"Oooh. So you're Kai." He looked closely at my necklace then spun me around. "Let me see your back!"

"What? No!" I spun back around and backed up a couple of steps.

"Awww, I'd like to see the wings."

"Who told you about those?"

"Zidane."

I smiled evilly. "Then his name goes to the top of my Death Note list."

"What?!"

I ignored Bartz and rubbed my hands together like a mad scientist giving a low chuckle. Yes, yes my precious. He must die in the most inconspicuous way possible. It must be a secret. Hee hee hee. Ho ho ho. Ha ha ha.

"You feeling okay?" Bartz walked over and put his hand to my forehead. "Do you have a fever or something?"

"Nah, I'm just poking fun at monkey boy." I brushed his hand away and smiled. "Oh, that reminds me, how do you have Zidane's swords? Doesn't he need those?"

"These aren't Zidane's real swords, their copies."

"Copies?"

"Yeah! I'm a mime!"

"Really? Can't be one of those pasty faced ones." I imitated a mime trapped in a box. Bartz laughed at me and my funny expression.

"Not that kind of mime. I can copy other people's weapons and abilities."

"Hmm. That's kinda cool."

"Yeah! Gimme your sword." I raised an eyebrow but unsheathed it and gave it to him. He looked it over, running his hands over the smooth metal, absorbing every detail.

"I don't think it's going to be very happy the way you're feeling it up. Pervert." Bartz shot me a smile and gave the sword back.

"Watch this." He reached out in front of himself and plucked a sword from mid air. The damn thing just appeared in his hand! Not only that, but it was my scimitar. I looked from his copy to the sword at my hip and back. I then drew my sword and compared it to his. They were exactly the same.

"Damn, kid. That's ridiculous."

"Show me some attacks, Kai."

"No way. You're not copying my abilities. Those are mine."

"Come on. One little move."

"No."

"Please?"

"No. Drop it."

"Aww. Just one?"

"Zip it, bothersome pest."

Bartz was so busy pestering me he didn't notice the slight noise in the air. It was quiet but persistent. I looked down to see the ground glowing beneath his feet. I grabbed the front of his shirt and tugged him forward. He weighed a bit more than I thought and we fell to the ground. The area he was standing on erupted into a giant pillar. Bartz glanced back and gave a low whistle.

"That was close."

"This is even closer. Could you get off?"

"Oh! Sorry!" He stood up and helped me to my feet.

"Let's move. I don't like this place."

"I agree."

I followed Bartz since I had no idea where I was going. I looked past him to see the platform we were standing on stop. Beyond was a bunch of floating rocks and pillars. Hopefully the crystals won't kill us while we try to cross. Unfortunately, my luck is usually shitty.

* * *

After we crossed the floating rocks of doom centered over the pits of death, we reached solid ground once more. I was just getting comfortable when the wide open floor condensed into a narrow bridge. Luckily, the bridge was wide enough so four or five people could cross at the same time. Unluckily, it was situated over an expansive pit of lava. Life is full of compromises; some good, some ridiculous. These absolutely nonsensical places and events were starting to get on my nerves.

"Hey, Bartz. Why are you here? Isn't this place close to the enemy stronghold?"

"What makes you think that?"

"I was teleported here by flamboyant gay-lord and attacked by moving rocks. It's way too asinine to be near the good guys."

"Haha! Good point. I got trapped in a portal and teleported to Kefka's evil lair. I escaped without a hitch and found you in trouble."

"Kefka? Demented clown man?"

"That's him."

"Huh. So tell me about the wings on my back."

"Well, they are the source of…wait, no. Sorry but I can't tell you."

My eye twitched in annoyance. "You are the sixth person to tell me that. Why can't you?"

Bartz shrugged his shoulders and gave me an apologetic look. I slitted my eyes and grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Tell me."

"Show me some abilities and I will tell you."

"No."

"Then no."

"Fine. Whatever." I walked away in a huff. How dare these people keep secrets from me? Especially since they pertain to my foggy past. I guess I'll just have to find Squall and beat it out of him. Bartz is too nice to threaten. Yes, Squall would be perfect. That quiet, over working, half-baked, son of a pack mule. I stopped and gave a long sigh. I was getting too worked up.

"You okay, Kai?"

I glanced back to see a worried looking Bartz staring at me. I quivered a bit. He is too damn nice to be mean to. He's also cute in a brotherly sort of way.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." He smiled in return and I looked away. How could I have been so demanding to him? I hit myself on the head as punishment and started to walk forward. He caught up and we walked for a while.

"You look kind of down."

"Do I?" In fact, I probably looked dreadful. All that's happened is just too much to handle sometimes. I wish I could go back home to the guys and play in the band like a normal person. I miss my biology research, my best friend Jade, and gooey pizza. I want pizza.

"Here, take this." I looked over to see Bartz present me with a feather. It was larger than an eagle feather and a nice yellow color. I took it and looked it over.

"What is it?"

"A chocobo feather from my beloved chocobo Boko!"

"Boko?"

"Yeah! I want you to have it."

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

I smiled and reached into my pocket pulling out a piece of string. I tied one end of it to the feather and the other to a lock of my hair near my shoulder. Once in place, it hung over my shoulder.

"Thanks, Bartz."

"Anything to see you smile."

I blushed at his comment and walked ahead of him. I hate blushing in front of other people. It's a sign of weakness or embarrassment depending on the situation. This one was embarrassment. I stopped and Bartz bumped into me.

"Whoops. Sorry about that."

"Why is there a giant-assed sword sticking out of the ground?" This thing was huge. It was at least 3 times taller than me and sticking straight up. The blade actually looked sharp.

"Wow," he said.

"Do you think whoever wields this thing is trying to compensate for something?" We looked at each other and laughed. We stopped when we heard a weird sound behind us. It was kinda like a boing. I turned around to see a tall, beefy guy encased in teal, dark blue, and gold armor. He had some sort of blue skirt loin-cloth type thing around his waist and a white cape fastened at his shoulders. What is with all the funky colors people wear? I really have only seen silver armor. Where did he get teal?

"Hmfp, a mouse and a princess. The void has been gracious indeed."

"Shut the hell up! Why do all you bad guys insist on calling me that? I'm gonna knock your head in!" I yelled, pointing a finger at his fat head. This was the one…two…three…well, something time the bad and good guys have both called me princess. Was there something more to this nickname? Whatever. I'm going to find out one way or another. If this lummox keeps pissing me off, I'm going to beat it out of him.

"It seems the girl has just as much spark as Kuja said."

"Gay-lord? What does he have to do with this?"

"Gay-lord?" Bartz asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Ever seen Kuja?"

"Yes."

"Then you know what I'm talking about. Creepy guy."

"I agree but more importantly…" Bartz drew a copy of Zidane's sword from thin air and pointed it at armor guy. "Come down here Exdeath."

"Exdeath is your name?" I shouted at the guy.

"Yes. Though you don't need to know. You both shall return to the void soon."

"Void. Barely legal woman said something about that."

"Yes, the Cloud of Darkness. The void is a place of nothingness. In it, all power will fade."

"I don't give a rip. I like to keep things simple. You bad guy, us good guys, we beat your ass in."

"You wish to fight?"

"Yes!" I yelled.

"Maybe not," Bartz yelled.

"What do you mean maybe not?"

"I'd rather not fight."

"I don't really want to either, but this guy is annoying."

"Then ignore him."

"If we beat him, we don't have to ignore him."

"Enough!" Exdeath shouted. "I will take your powers, girl, and use them to send this world into nothingness."

"Why do the bad guys always have to monologue and tell us about their dastardly plans? And what is with your voice? Sounds like your straining voice is one step away from extinction."

"I wouldn't taunt him any more if I was you," Bartz whispered to me. I ignored him and summoned a bit of energy. I threw it at him in the form of crackling lightning. He laughed and disappeared.

"Whoa," I said, whipping my head around to find him. Bartz pushed me to the ground as Exdeath appeared directly above us. I pointed my finger at his ass and unleashed a powerful fire spell. It hit his armor and heated it up to a glowing red color.

"YEEEEHHHHHH!" He yelled, jumping into the air. I smirked because he couldn't move around very well in all that armor.

"Nice one!" Bartz exclaimed, pulling me to my feet.

"I aim to please."

"You will die painfully slow for this," Exdeath wheezed, floating down to the ground. I could only imagine his eyes behind the armor where burning with a fiery passion.

"Come get your comeupins," I taunted. Exdeath only laughed as the world around us went dark. Bartz grabbed onto my hand and we were teleported into pitch black. I clung to Bartz's shirt as we started to spin uncontrollably in the dark. Fortunately, the sensation only lasted for a few seconds and we were dumped onto the grassy lawn of a stone castle. At least, I think that's what it was. It was a square stone fortress with a few small windows and turrets at each of the corners. I looked around to see floating turrets and blocks of stone with grass on the top. I was so busy looking around that I forgot I was clinging onto Bartz's clothes for dear life.

"Kai, you can let go now," Bartz gently said, prying my fingers from the fabric.

"Whoops," I flung myself back a few steps and grinned in embarrassment. "Sorry about that."

"No problem for me." He grinned at laughed back.

"It seems the worms find something funny," Exdeath's voice said from somewhere. Bartz and I looked around franticly to discern the exact location.

"Look!" I yelled pointing straight up. Exdeath hung in the air for a few more seconds and dropped to the ground like a rock. Bartz and I rolled opposite directions just in time to avoid getting smashed.

"Come quietly, Kai. Let me use your power and return this world to the void."

I rolled my eyes and looked around Exdeath. "Hey, Bartz. Do you want to take him or should I?"

"I'll do it. He threatened you and is going to pay for it."

Exdeath turned around to look at Bartz. He laughed a bit and drew his sword. Bartz summoned Squall's gunblade and rushed Exdeath. He sidestepped Bartz easily and threw his sword at him. Bartz whirled around and blocked the attack. The sword stayed in front of Bartz and kept attacking him. Exdeath was controlling it with his power! I growled in annoyance and walked over to Exdeath. He was so busy fighting with Bartz that he didn't notice me behind him. I drew my sword and rammed in into the space between his helmet and breast plate. Exdeath screamed and dropped to his knees. I retracted the sword and back stepped a few paces. Bartz ran over to stand beside me.

"Nice work," he said holding out his fist. I bumped it with mine and smiled.

"He's as slow as a tree." My smile vanished as Exdeath wobbled to his feet and turned to face us. He exhaled slowly and stood fully upright. There was no sign of damage or anything that might show that he had just been skewered through the neck. I pointed at him in horror. "What the hell are you?!"

He laughed his annoying, egotistical laugh. "Nothing can defeat me."

"I'm starting to figure that out."

"Then you are getting wise. Give your power to me, Kai."

"Hell no!" Bartz and I yelled in unison. He grabbed my hand and started to spin me around. When I was spinning in the air, Bartz released me and I sailed at Exdeath. He easily blocked the spinning attack and sent me flying into the wall. I smashed into it and slumped to the ground. That hurt!

"Kai!" Bartz yelled, running toward me. Exdeath blocked his path and laughed.

"You will not help this girl. She is mine now." Exdeath summoned his power and created a small black hole. It started to suck everything around it in. I stumbled to my feet and tried to move away, but the blow I had just received left me dizzy. I fell over from the force of the black hole and was easily sucked in.

"Kai!" Bartz shouted. He leaped over Exdeath and grabbed onto my hand keeping half my body in this world. I gazed at him with fear. I didn't want to be sucked into the void. I didn't want to be transported somewhere different. I wanted to stay here with Bartz. All these emotions flowed through me with devastating power. My back started to ache and I began to glow a bluish white. I want to stay. I want to stay. I want to stay!

"No!" I screamed as Bartz's grip was broken. Exdeath grabbed his shoulder and flung him away. I fell into the void. Exdeath laughed as darkness consumed me. I fell through the air and landed hard. It hurt, a lot. Stars dance in my vision as I struggled to stand up. It was difficult to gain my balance because everywhere I looked it was black. I saw no light anywhere. I stumbled a bit through the darkness. The only light was a blue white glow radiating from my body. Not only that, but the area on my back where my tattoos where hurt. It ached like a muscle does when you over use it. I groaned and fell backwards onto the ground.

"Now what?" I slowly inhaled and exhaled. This was no place to get into a panic. It was also no place to give up. I had to keep going. "I have to keep going, damn it!"

As I yelled into thin air, an area of the darkness opened up to reveal someplace new. I got to my feet and walked over. It was just like the portal Exdeath used to send me here, except it wasn't trying to suck me in. It was giving me a choice. Anywhere was better than here. I stepped through the portal and the absolute darkness closed behind me. As I did, my back stopped hurting and I stopped glowing. That was good. Now, I didn't know where this was, but I sure as hell was going to find out.


	8. Chapter 8

**Yikes. Sorry it took so long for me to update. Business before pleasure after all. At least it's Christmas break now; YAAAAAAAHOOOOO! Please enjoy! **

Chapter 8 

"What the hell…" I whispered, looking around. The portal transported me to a very strange place; very strange indeed. I was standing on a giant rock platform with chunks of obsidian jutting out of the edges. Rocks and pillars floated in midair surrounded by tendrils of sparkling green…something. I turned in a circle to find a wall of swirling green energy everywhere. I walked to the edge of the platform and looked down. Holy crap. There was nothing down there. Just an endless pit of nothingness, well, except for the green energy. I looked forward to find the energy about 30 feet in front of me and I looked up to see it rise as far as the eye could see. I turned around and began to walk placing one foot directly in front of the other. 50 steps. The platform was 50 of my steps.

"Perfect, just bleeding perfect. First, giant gold crystals that wanted to kill me, followed by Exdeath in turquoise armor who wants to kill me, and lastly stuck in a place surrounded by glowing green strings that probably want to kill me. And to top it all off, I'm freaking tired!" I was angry. It has always been a habit of mine to shout at everything when I'm angry. I proceeded to stamp the ground with my foot. Little bits of fire curled out from the edges of my shoes. I lifted my foot to see my footprint neatly burned into the rock. I cocked my head to the side and smiled. Bending down, I wiped the area clean with some fire from my hand. I then summoned a bit of fire to my right fingertip and began to draw. Soon, a turtle appeared in the rock before me. I giggle a bit.

"Hee hee, turtle." I finished my drawing and stood up. "I hear by christen thee, Slowpoke. May you confuse anyone who wanders this way. Adieu, Slowpoke."

I bowed to my drawing and slowly backed away. Smiling, I turned around to look at the green tendrils. Now, what the heck are these things? I reached up and grabbed one right above me. My feet lifted off the ground as I sailed along the tendril by my hand. I gasped as I swirled up and up.

"I want off, now!" I let go and started to drop like a rock. Before I hit the ground, I flipped in the air and landed on another tendril feet first. I was still going down, except now I could control it. Laughing with excitement, I shifted my weight the other direction. My body changed course and went up the green line instead. I altered my direction a few more times before zipping down to the bottom and landing on the platform.

"Whooo! Whatever this stuff is, it's fun!"

"Those are bits of the Lifestream Mother left after her journey to this planet."

I whipped around to see a strange guy standing 10 feet away. He was very tall with long silver hair, black leather pants and boots, and a black leather trench coat with shoulder armor. He wore a ridiculously long sword at his hip. This thing must have been at least 6 feet long. How the hell would you wield something like that efficiently? What am I talking about? Cloud has a huge sword almost as big as he is and he can swing that thing fast. I backed up a few feet and stared at him.

"Who are you?" I questioned, hand hovering above the hilt of my scimitar.

"Sephiroth. But my name need not concern you, Kai." He gave me a cold smile.

"Damn it! Not you too! Why does everyone know my name and I know no one?"

Fuming, I drew my sword and pointed it at Sephiroth. "I am not going to give you my 'power,' let you make fun of me, or get pushed around anymore! I'm tired of it!"

"Glad to hear it," Sephiroth said. I narrowed my eyes and growled. He was making fun of me. "Don't get so angry, Kai. It does not suit someone of your standings."

"How would you know? What standings are you talking about?"

"If you come with me, I will show you." He drew his sword and held it horizontally at eye level. He was still smiling that unnerving smile. I could tell by the way he stood and how he gripped his sword that he was fast, really fast. Zidane and Tidus both held their swords that way; not too loose and not too tight. I took a half step back and tried to hold my sword the same way. I was still trying to improve my crappy swordsmanship. Sephiroth's smile deepened as he slowly made his way towards me. I bent my knees and stood my ground. I didn't want to run. I wanted to fight. I wanted to hold my own without everyone's help. I was supposed to have some amazing power that could control the universe, right? So why couldn't I tap into the power? Why couldn't I use it? The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. My body started to shiver with the emotional overload.

"Are you really that scared, Kai? Do I strike fear into your heart?" Sephiroth was so close I could practically spit on him. I looked up into his icy, calculating eyes. Was I scared of him? Yes. Would I give in?

"No!" I yelled, sticking my hand out and releasing a fiery blast of magic. It curled and moved like a snake, wrapping itself around Sephiroth. He frowned and lashed out, slicing the air with his free hand. I darted under his hand whirled around him. Bringing up my sword, I attempted to slash his back open. Before I could, his sword intercepted mine and pushed me backwards. I stumbled a bit, caught my footing, and opened myself to my river of energy. The energy came easily now and I scooped up more than a handful, a lot more. I closed my eyes and concentrated on creating a powerful magic attack to send at Sephiroth. I frowned when my skin started to prickle and I heard a crackling sound surround me. Opening my eyes I realized I was surrounded by four pillars of pure lightning energy. Each pillar was as thick as a tree trunk and wiggling as it moved. It looked really unstable. Relaxing my body, I controlled the raging energy. Locating Sephiroth, I held out my hand and sent a pillar his way. He easily avoided this attack. I sent two more his way but he dodged them with little effort.

"Looks like you can't control your own power."

"Looks can be deceiving," I said as I sent my last lightning attack at him. He leapt back to avoid it only to be caught between my other three pillars. "Whoever said I was trying to hit you?"

He looked around to find my four pillars of lighting blocking any escape route. Concentrating, I allowed the energy to swirl around him faster and faster until it created a crackling vortex. I then brought my hands together, signaling the energy to do the same. Sephiroth groaned as the lighting hit him from all sides. Breathing hard I stumbled back and landed on my butt. That took a lot more energy than I thought it would. Where was that Force stuff when you needed it?

"Now stay down," I said. Spotting a floating white orb, I reached up and let it absorb into my skin. I smiled as the energy ran through my body, invigorating my spirit. I stood up and stretched. I can't believe I beat that guy so easily! Maybe I really did have power. Yes! I looked over to where Sephiroth should be laying unconscious to see him standing there with smoke curling off of his body. He was smiling again. Oh shit.

"Kailiana, now do you see the futility of opposing me? Come with me and I will show you what your power can truly do." With every sentence, Sephiroth took one step closer to me. With every step he took towards me, I took a step back. I was soon at the edge of the platform teetering between a frightful drop to my death and a frightful person who I wouldn't doubt to push me over to my frightful death.

"H-how do you know my full name? I've never told anyone that." Sephiroth was only inches from my face and bending down so he could look me straight in the eye. He was taller than I thought.

"I know everything about you Kai. Do you wish to find out who you truly are?"

"I…I want," I stammered.

"I can tell you. I can teach you."

"I-I don't know. Don't know. Don't…"

"Your past, Kai. Do you want to know why everyone is hunting you? Do you want to know how to stop them?"

"Yes…no…but…I…how." My head suddenly exploded with a white hot pain that reached from my temples to the base of my neck. It felt like someone was twisting my head and trying to pull it off my shoulders. Groaning, I crashed to my knees clutching my head. Flashes of blue and white, purple and silver rushed across my field of vision. I felt powerful and weak at the same time. It was like a power was at my fingertips yet just out of reach.

"Yes, Kai. Come with me and I will teach you how to control this power. You will finally understand."

"Get away from her!" I heard before a blast of blue energy landed between Sephiroth and me. It was powerful enough to send him back a few steps and me almost off the edge. Before I fell over, a hand clad in black grabbed my forearm and pulled me into the guy's chest. I looked up through my colorful haze and into a face surrounded by spiky blonde hair.

"Cloud!" I exclaimed, clutching onto his shirt to keep myself from falling down. "Why are you here?"

He just looked at me with a quizzical eye then glared at Sephiroth.

"Oh, right. Him," I grumbled.

"What did you do to her, Sephiroth?" Cloud yelled, pointing his sword at him.

"Nothing, yet. Her powers are awakening. Can you not feel the energy flowing through the air? I wonder which side she will be on when the time comes." Sephiroth shifted his gaze from Cloud to me. I glared back and willed myself to stand on my own. By sheer stubbornness, my power receded and the flashes of color ended. I shook my head a couple of times and took a step away from Cloud. He looked at me and I gave him a confident nod. I was alright, sort of.

"Hmm, it seems as though you are learning to control yourself," Sephiroth said, bringing his sword to the horizontal position again. Cloud lifted his massive sword into a ready position as well. I followed suit only to get a shaking head from Cloud.

"Get out of here, Kai," he said.

"I want to fight too. I don't want to run away anymore!"

He smiled at my comment. Smiled! I didn't know Cloud's mouth could even twitch into that position. "This is my fight. My darkness. Leave this battle field and find some of our allies."

"But,"

"Now!"

Frowning, I sheathed my scimitar and walked to the edge of the platform. With a final glare at Sephiroth, I hopped onto one of the green tendrils and circled upwards. I jumped onto a floating rock about 100 feet above the platform. As I turned around, a slash of silver-white energy smashed into the rock. I was hurled backwards through the air. Looking down I saw Sephiroth giving me a wide smirk.

"You asshole!" I screamed, smashing into the wall of green energy surrounding the immediate area and falling over to the other side. I fell. Well, more like I floated down fast. The passing air still ruffled my hair, but I must have only been going only 5 meters per second. Half the speed of gravity. Weird. Why was I always the one to get pushed, prodded, and sucked into the strangest places? Why couldn't the bad guy get thrown around for once? Wasn't good always supposed to triumph over evil? Evil wasn't supposed to push the good guys through portals, try to transport them to conniving locations, or smooth talk them into doing something stupid! Ok, maybe they do but really.

My inner monologue was interrupted by light shining below me. I twisted around so I was falling stomach first and passed right through a ball of light. Sucking in my breath I flipped over and saw that the ball burst into many smaller balls when I hit it. They wiggled like gelatin. Some hit each other again and reformed into a larger ball.

"Freaky amoeba light," I said, twisting back over and dodging another couple balls of light. They were like stars only a lot smaller and weirder.

"Hmmm, I wonder." Gathering a tiny bit of energy I sent a blizzard spell at a light ball below me. It hit the light and froze it in place. As I paced it, I tried to grab it only for it to shatter in my hand. The broken light sent small snowflake pieces everywhere.

"Cool." I gathered more energy and sent a giant blizzard spell downward. The ice hit the light and froze it like before. I touched one and the pieces shattered, hit the other frozen balls and shattered them as well. I fell through snow made of light and caught a few flakes in my mouth.

"Tastes like…frozen light. Go figure." I twisted around in the air a few times until I was dizzy. Boredom is not good for me. Squinting my eyes I saw a dark object coming up fast. I rolled to the side just as a pillar made of dark rock shot up beside me.

"That would've been bad if I hit that." Just as I finished talking to myself, my back smashed into a pointy piece of rock. I groaned in pain and got bounce around between three rock pillars that surrounded me. I finally hit the ground back first and smashed my head. Stars flitted around in my field of vision. I took a deep breath and catalogued any injuries I might have. Arms and legs, okay. Torso, okay. Butt and shoulders, bruised but okay. Head, owww. Slowly turning my head to the right, I saw a rock pillar with chunks of crystal embedded into the side.

"Crystals and pillars. Why does it always have to be crystals and pillars?" I groaned and tried to sit up only for the world to practically flip upside down. I quickly laid down only for the world to flip on its side.

"Stop the world, I want to get off." Closing my eyes I grabbed the rock beside me and got to my knees. I slowly opened them and saw that everything was right-side up again. The moon was high in the sky, the stars were hanging out beside it, and the ground was below me. Good. I wobbled to my feet and walked forward using the rock pillar for a bit of support.

"Now where the hell am I?" I reached up to the chocobo feather tied at the base of my hair and ran my fingers down the side of it. I took a deep breath and looked up to see the pillar was only 8 feet tall. I could climb that. Maybe I could better see where I am. I slid a dagger from my belt sheath and planted it deep into the rock. Grabbing another from the other side of my belt, I hefted myself up and shoved it into the rock. I repeated the process of climbing until I reached the top. Replacing my daggers, I took a good look where I was. It was an open area with a few tall and short rock pillars dotting the landscape. The ground was rough with pits and cracks. It was very calm and serene. I closed my eyes as a slight breeze sailed through the air. I could get used to this. That is, until an arrow imbedded itself a few inches from my foot. I jumped back and crouched low to the ground. I unsheathed two daggers and wildly looked around.

"Which soon-to-be-dead idiot did that?!" I yelled. I spotted two guys a few yards away and jumped to the ground to confront them. One of them wore silver armor with blue leggings and an ice blue cloak wrapped around his neck. His air was a beautiful silver color and half wrapped in a yellow turban thing. He also had a ridiculous amount of weaponry on him including a sword, shield, ax, bow, staff, dagger, and lance. His bow was currently pointed at me with an arrow notched into place.

His companion was scarier looking because he was coated head to toe in black armor. The different plates of armor were trimmed in gold and there were two pointy horn things coming out of his shoulder guards. There was a sheathed dagger on his lower back but a black, dark blue, and gold lance was poised to attack.

"Name yourself," the silver haired guy said. He didn't sound unfriendly but his armed bow led me to think otherwise.

"I'd rather not. Name yourself first." I knew I shouldn't be snarky, but I was getting sick of all this unknown shit. They briefly glanced at each other, looked at my neck, and lowered their weapons. I also lowered my daggers but kept them ready just in case. I guess they thought I wasn't a threat. I didn't know if I should take that as a good thing or an insult.

"I am Firion," the silver hair guy said.

"My name is Cecil Harvey," the guy in all black said. He suddenly shimmered and burst into a different set of armor. He now was coated in blue and silver armor. His helmet was gone so his long, silver hair could flow freely. His lips were tainted a blue color which worried me. Blue lips usually meant you weren't getting enough oxygen yet he looked completely fine. Weird. He still had his lance but it was now blue, red, and gold in color.

"Mine's Kai." Their eyes widened a bit in some sort of shock. I held up my hand to prevent them from speaking. "You guys obviously know me, but how? I have met 7 good guys and 5 bad guys who apparently know who I am but I don't know any of them and I am getting really pissed off about this entire thing. If you know who I am, then tell me!" Cecil and Firion look taken aback but I was done being nice to people. I want to find out who I am and somebody is going to tell me damn it.

"You don't know who you are?" Firion asked concerned.

"Do you? Do any of us know who we truly are?"

"Hmmm, very philosophical," Cecil said, taking a step closer.

"Yes, I can see why she is the one," Firion said, matching Cecil's step. I took a small step back only for my back to hit rock.

"Now I am the one? Can people just pick a term for me and stick with it?"

"What have others been calling you?" Firion asked.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Can you tell me what I am and why everyone is hunting me?"

The two guys looked at each other before Firion answered. "You have a power. One that can save or destroy the universe. Certain people want this power."

"I figured that out from the guy with waist length silver hair. A cousin of yours?" I gestured to Cecil. He frowned slightly and shook his head. "I was kidding. Lighten up."

"I'm sorry that I can't tell you more, Kai. We were told that you must figure things out by yourself," Firion said.

"Well, can't you tell me something about my past? I had a strange dream once that was too real to be a dream."

"I'm sorry. We can escort you but nothing more than that." Cecil said.

I growled in frustration. "Can you at least tell me why everyone knows me by my necklace?"

They shook their heads. I quickly sheathed my swords and started to massage my temples. I could feel one of those tension headaches coming on.

"Are you feeling alright, Kai?" Firion asked, leaning in to get a good look at my face. I snapped an angry look at him and sent him back a few feet.

"I am not feeling alright. I was pulled from my home to fight for my life against people I don't know. I can't fight yet I am thrown into battles with evil people who know me. Everyone wants something that I can't give them because no one will tell me exactly what it is! I obviously am more than I was brought up to be but nobody will tell me! Why do I have to figure it out on my own? Why can't I have help? What if I never figure it out, what then?" With every passing sentence, I got more upset. I was soon on my knees with tears flowing down my face and my voice hiccupping in my throat. I dropped to my butt and curled up into a ball with my back against the rock. I hate it when people see me cry, but I couldn't stop crying. The tears flowed over my arms and soaked into my pants. Firion came up and sat beside me while Cecil leaned on the rock on my other side. I felt Firion put his arm around me and I leaned into his body. I cried harder and started to hiccup in despair.

"I'm sorry we can't help you in the way you need, Kai," Cecil said, his head turned away.

Firion looked at me with a question in his eyes. He tried to change the subject. "What is your dream?"

I raised my head and scanned his face with my red eyes. His question seemed so simple compared to my dire needs. "I want to find out who I am and get the bad guys to stop following me!"

Firion chuckled a bit at my lack luster joke. "My dream is to fill the world with wild roses. All worlds should see beauty and freedom."

He stretched out his hand and a rose appeared in it. It was beautiful and shimmered with a mysterious power. I gazed at it with wonder but kept my hands to myself. It was obviously important to him. He removed a dagger from his boot, trimmed off the thorns and shortened the stem, gently grabbed my hand, and placed the rose in my hand.

"You're giving this to me?" I mumbled.

"I hope this will give you freedom and hope for the future."

I slowly stood up and gingerly placed the rose in a side pouch on my belt. Don't want to lose or ruin it. I turned to face Firion and wiped my eyes vigorously. "Thank you, Firion."

Cecil smiled and leaned towards me. "Come, Kai. We must escort you to a safe place where we won't be attacked."

"That would be nice. These random attacks don't do well for the self esteem."

* * *

We must have walked for a couple of hours at least. I could tell because this nasty little blister on my foot was acting up again. I really wanted to stop and rest, but I also wanted to get to this safe place Cecil talked about. Safety is definitely more important than personal comfort. Well, unless the personal comfort is chocolate cake. I love chocolate cake.

"Hey, Cecil," I said, turning around and walking backwards so I could look him in the eyes. "What's your dream? What's most important to you?"

Cecil paused for a moment before answering. "I want to help my brother."

"Your brother? How? What's he like? Where is he?"

Cecil laughed. "One question at a time. My brother he…he's working for the enemy. Or at least I think he is."

"What do you mean?"

"He has been helping me."

"How so?"

"He helped me find my crystal. The crystal of the kingdom I am from."

"So he's a good brother? How can he work for the enemy but help you too?"

"I don't know."

"Hmmm, what about you, Firion? Have you found your crystal? Zidane once mentioned something about a crystal. They must be important."

Firion smiled. "I am still looking for the crystal. And yes, they are important. The crystals harbor great power."

"Power, huh. What kind? For what purpose?" I stumbled on a loose rock beneath my foot. Cecil caught me by my arm before I fell.

"You ask so many questions, Kai," Cecil said.

"I know! I have to learn all I can about this place. Knowledge is power and power is the only way to beat the bad guys so I have to gain as much knowledge as possible." Cecil and Firion grinned at each other. I feel like I was missing something. Why do I always have to feel left out? It's like physics class all over again. I went to class and absorbed nothing. It all went right over my head.

"Well, it seems like we have an eager young princess here," a female voice said from behind me. I whirled around and scanned the horizon. Seeing nothing, I lifted my head and spotted two people floating in the air. What's with these bad guys and their floating? Wait, one of them was the Emperor! No, not him again! The other was a woman was pretty but wore a ridiculous dress. It was red satin with black fur that traveled down the breast line and fastened just at her lower abdomen. Revealing much? She had purple tattoos on her legs and chest and her long, silver hair was put up in some sort of horn fashion. She also had black wings on her back! That was my thing! Well, maybe they weren't real.

"Hey, gay in gold! Get out of here before I kick your ass again!" I yelled up to the Emperor. He gave me one of those what-an-insect looks.

"She has livened up since the last time I saw her," the Emperor said to the woman.

"Has she? All the more interesting," she replied.

"Emperor, Ultimecia. You will not take Kai!" Firion yelled, whipping out his bow and notching an arrow. Cecil grabbed his lance and transformed back into his black armor. That must be his battle armor or something.

"The truth is she will come with us. Reality is harsh, is it not?"

"Damn it!" I yelled. "Stop talking like I'm not here! I am standing point blank in front of you so talk to me face to face you creepy lady!"

"Oh Emperor, please allow me the joy of capturing her."

"As you wish, Ultimecia."

She grinned before sending a jet of pink energy arrows between me and the guys. Firion and Cecil jumped opposite from me to avoid getting hit. The Emperor then sent a giant blue ball of energy at Firion and Cecil. It exploded and kept them from getting any closer to me. While the Emperor was keeping my companions busy, Ultimecia floated down to stand in front of me.

"Shall we dance?" She coyly said.

I unsheathed my sword and jumped back bringing my sword into a defensive position. "Only if it's the Macarena."

She laughed a seriously vicious laugh and threw a black bottle at me. It exploded in my face, sending me flying backwards into a rock. I hit it back first but used the momentum to right myself as I fell forward. Landing on my feet, I whipped my sword in front of me and sent a tidal wave of water to her. She jumped into the air and sent some purple energy arrows my way. I rolled to the side to dodge them and looked up to see her powering up a spherical attack. It shot at me really damn fast and I almost got hit. Shuffling to the side, I threw a dagger at her. She twisted around to dodge it but the second dagger I threw grazed her arm. I used my power to retract my daggers, caught them, and sheathed them. She slowly looked from the bead of blood on her arm to me. Her smile faded and she frowned at me.

"Don't be so glum, creepy lady. Unfortunately for me, it'll heal."

She yelled and shot a stream of arrows at me. I ran from her and her onslaught but she followed with arrows blazing. I tried weaving through the rock to avoid getting hit, but she kept up with me. I turned a corner to see Cecil and Firion in battle with the Emperor. I could tell they were trying to defeat him quicky, but the Emperor is no slouch.

"The battle is over here," Ultimecia said from behind me. I turned around just in time for her to send a wave of energy at me. It hit and threw me into a patch of sharp rocks. I landed on my feet and ran. Her attacks were coming so fast that I couldn't get an attack in edge-wise. Attempting a different tactic, I ran straight at her. This caught her off guard and I jumped at her. She dodged my running assault and fired an arrow as fast as a bullet at me. It hit my right shoulder blade. I screamed from the pain that erupted at the puncture site. I crashed to the ground face first. Getting to my knees, I reached behind me, grabbed the arrow, and ripped it out.

"That won't do." Ultimecia laughed. She fired two more arrows that sunk deep to my back. I screamed as the energy from her arrows dissipated into my body. It sucked the strength from my bones and left me feeling like an empty husk. I fell to the ground and gasped for breath. It felt like these arrows were draining the life from me. With the last of my strength, I cried out for Firion. I cried out for Cecil.

"They won't come. You are all alone." Ultimecia landed beside me and fired one final arrow into my back. I shuttered and closed my eyes. Consciousness left me and the world faded into darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I hope your Holiday Festivities and New years went well**.** Thank you to all who have reviewed my story. It really inspires me to write more. Please enjoy.**

Chapter 9 

I swear I've seen this place before, but I haven't, have I? I've never been out of the state much less the country and I've never been in a place this grand before. The room looked to be a great hall inside of a large castle. It was very long with multiple stone pillars running down the sides of the room. Gold, ebony, and, ivory swirls ringed the pillars which helped hold up the vaulting ceiling. Chandeliers of metal hung from the ceiling with dozens of burning candles on them. It gave the room a warming glow and a surprising amount of light. Tapestries of various battles, animals, and everyday life adorned the walls in vibrant colors and weaves. The cloth was fringed in gold and purple. Two long, beautifully crafted dark oak wood tables ran the length of the room and glass plates and goblets adorned them. At the head of the room sat a table larger and more elegantly crafted than the rest. In the middle of the table, there was an exquisite throne of walnut with gold outlining the curves of the wood. Crushed amethyst jewels created a crescent moon on the back of the chair and a purple velvet cushion made the seat look comfy. Smaller chairs of cherry outlined in swirls of gold and silver were placed on either side of the main throne. Everything was so beautiful.

I turned to examine the carve of the tables and noticed I was wearing a dress. A dress! Why was I in a dress? I hate dresses. Although, this particular one was gorgeous. It was a deep emerald green that laced up the sides and down the sleeves with white laces. The sleeves were form fitting until the elbow where it turned into a deep bell sleeve. The neckline scooped down to show some cleavage. The dress was tight until the waist where it flared out in a nice wavy motion. The hem was gold and shoes black leather. I noticed my necklace sitting just above my breasts. I twirled to get an idea as to how the dress moved when I noticed my hair was waist length and more black than brown. What? Long? My hair wasn't…wait. Was I shorter? My hands seemed softer and fingers more elegant. Why didn't I have the characteristic freckle on my palm! This wasn't me! Who is this? Wh-what's going on?

"My lady." I whirled around to see a small, blacked haired man in a loose cream tunic, faded brown vest with white laces, and loose black breeches bowing to me. He raised his head and smiled a kind yet wary smile. I gave him a small smile in return. "Please follow me to the conference room. You're presence is requested by the king."

The king! What king? I began to speak but squeaked instead. I noticed my voice was higher than it should be. This is definitely not me. "Alright."

I followed the man through the great hall and into a passageway lit by large torches on the walls. We turned to the right and were greeted by another large, magnificent room. This one was decked in tapestries and frescos with gold inlayed directly into the stone. Candles again lit the room and cast a warming glow on the polished floor. In the middle of the room sat a large rectangular table with a throne made of a deep mahogany and more gold at the head. Six chairs lined each side and ten men sat in the chairs; five on each side. Each of the men wore clothing similar to the servants but in much better condition and brighter colors ranging from red to blue to green and yellow. Sitting in the throne was a well built, muscular man in royal purple robes. He stood and extended his arms toward me. Without thinking, I curtsied deeply and walked over to him.

"Welcome, daughter," he boomed. I smiled shyly and he laughed. The king is my father? That means that…

"So this is she," one of the men said. The rest gazed at me and I stood to face them. Who were they?

"Gentlemen, my daughter will be the one to accept the burden of carrying the power of our country. This power is too dangerous to be left to its own devices and sealing it away will be our best option. This is what I have decided," the king declared. A few men protested but were silenced with a look.

I was afraid to ask my question but knew I had to. "What exactly are you going to seal the power into?"

"Ah, that's my smart girl. You've figured it out haven't you?"

"But, why?"

The men gasped as each one figured out what the king was thinking.

"That's right. The power of this country will be sealed into my daughter."

"You're highness! Why have you chosen this?" One of the men exclaimed.

"I see," another said. "It has to be a human because no object can take the strain. It also prevents any enemies from easily taking and using the power against us."

"It has to be a member of the royal family," a third man said, "so the power can be protected. It also has to be infused into someone young so the power doesn't rip the host apart."

"But why must you seal the power in the first place?" A fourth man cried. "For what purpose?"

The king held his hand up for silence. "Earthquakes, tornados, floods. Don't tell me you men haven't noticed an increase in natural disasters over the years."

"Of course," a man in bright red exclaimed. "These are natural disasters! How can the power of the kingdom of Destingaard be related in any way?"

"The power of my kingdom has been increasing dramatically. As the power increases, the natural disasters all over the kingdoms have increased! We must seal the power immediately before the next earthquake wipes out countless more lives!"

The men in the room shifted uncomfortably. My expression grew hard and I threw my hands on the table making everyone jump.

"Yes, we must protect not only my father's kingdom but everyone else as well. I agree that sealing the power within my body is the correct decision, but we must find a way to make sure the power stays sealed and that no one can reawaken it."

"Very good, daughter!" The king boomed, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Do you have a suggestion?"

"We create items that form a key. The more pieces the better and scatter them throughout the 10 kingdoms surrounding Destingaard. I would suggest creating this key out of crystals since they are the source of much power and importance."

"Yes, yes! My thoughts exactly. That is why I have summoned you men. You are the finest artisans in each of the kingdoms surrounding Destingaard. I request you each create a crystal that forms a key. When all the crystals come together and the greatest knights from each specific kingdom release the crystals energy, the power will be seal…or released. My daughters necklace will be the eleventh key with will bind the crystals together."

The artisans all nodded and looked at each other. They were in agreement! All the men stood and bowed deeply to the king. "We will do your bidding and create these crystals," they said in unison.

With their final word, I could feel myself being pulled away. My spirit left the princess and the scenery around me whooshed past and faded into gray. The world turned pitch black for a brief second before blazing into color. I blinked my eyes in confusion and shielded them from the light with my hand. Wait, my hand! I turned it over to see the freckle on my right palm. Reaching up, I grabbed a chunk of my hair and discovered it to be super short again. I'm me! I sat up quickly only for the world to spin and my back to cry out in pain. I yelled and crashed back to the ground.

"Ow," I grunted, rolling onto my stomach. I reached my hand up and felt my back where the arrows penetrated my flesh. The fabric of my vest and shirt was slick with blood but my skin was smooth with no open wounds. I gingerly sat up with less pain this time and tried to stretch my muscles. They weren't cooperating. As I twisted my back into some odd shape, I finally noticed where I was. A cell. I freaking prison cell! The walls were a dark stone that was damp with water. The ceiling was so low that I couldn't stand up. Beyond the dull metal bars was a wall of navy stone and some weird white figures painted on the walls. I crawled to the bars, successfully jamming my knee on a particularly sharp stone along the way, and tried to stick my head between them so I could get a good look. I did not succeed, but did see two columns with nice swirly engravings shoot up to beyond my field of vision. The ceiling of this place must be really high or am I just stuck at the bottom in some sort of creepy pit? Even though I couldn't see much, I could see giant golden gears turning and a wooden ramp swirling upwards.

"Perfect. Just bleeding perfect! I fight a creepy lady, get my ass kicked, and then proceed to get whisked away to some damp, mold covered rocky hole. Can my life get any better? And on top of that I lost Firion and Cecil along the way. Why oh why do I seem to lose all my friends? You know that phrase 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer?' When I get home, I'm gonna kill the person who said that." I screamed all this at the top of my lungs to try and calm myself down. It didn't work so well. I flopped on my back and glared at the ceiling. My ranting wasn't getting me anywhere. I must have laid there for a couple of hours. Even though I didn't think of one specific thing, my mind kept returning to that strange dream. That place looked really familiar. Where have I seen it before? Wait, the last time I had a weird dream it took place in that castle. Yeah, that dream with the freaky shadow people. And who was that girl? Why did she have my necklace? Unless it was originally hers and I'm a descendent of her. But how can that be? I've never been to that castle. I grew up the daughter of a successful business man not a princess. Everybody does call me princess though. Maybe that actually has meaning. Do I truly not know who I am? Does everybody but me know my past?

"Screw this!" I yelled, standing up. I cracked my head on the ceiling and crashed to the ground again. My eyes started to water and a groan escaped my lips. I reached up and felt the sore spot on my head. Aw man! That's gonna swell to the size of an egg! Laying on my stomach, I buried my head in my arms. Why does this stuff always happen to me? Why do I have to be special?

"Are you sure the girl's here?" A deep male voice grunted. My head shot up and I crawled to the bars of my cell. More bad guys or good guys? Should I shout out to them or not?

"Yes, she is here." A second male voice replied. His was still deep but much smoother.

"All right, smart guy, then where?"

"Calm yourself, Jecht. Ultimecia's Castle is small. It will only be a matter of time before we find her."

"Heh, if you say so."

Well, this conversation didn't straighten out their true intentions. Okay, snap decision. Good or evil? Nice or mean? Hmmm. Oh hell, let's just give it a go. "Hey! I'm down here!"

Two men dropped from the heavens and hovered right in front of the bars to my cell. They appeared so fast that I pushed myself away and fell on my butt. At least I held in the squeak of surprise. The man on the left was big and burly with rock hard muscles and scars covering most of his exposed skin which was everywhere. He wore the ragged remains of a pair of suspenders that were hanging by his hips. Tied onto his right hip was a long piece of red-orange cloth with black swirls on it. He also wore metal shoulder armor on his left shoulder that extended down to his hand. It was very spiky and wicked looking. His hair was long and black with a red head band and he had a gigantic sword strapped to his back that looked eerily similar to the one I saw in that lava pit room. There was a tattoo on his chest that looked exactly like the symbol Tidus wore on his clothing. I wonder if this is Tidus's dad. His cocky smile creeped me out a little. The man floating next to him looked like Cecil only bigger and more menacing. He wore the same dark armor with spiky shoulder guards and a dark blue cape. I couldn't see his face because it was covered by a large helmet with horns coming out from the top. The gold outlining on the armor was a nice touch. Maybe this was the brother Cecil was talking about.

"This is the girl everyone is talking about? She's only a kid!" The burly man said.

"Who you calling a kid, old man?!" I yelled back.

He threw his head back and laughed. "This kid has spunk!"

"Yes, Jecht. She does seem full of energy considering the circumstances surrounding her," the armored guy said. His voice was eerily calming.

"Jecht and…" I said pointing to armor man.

"Golbez," he replied.

"Right, Jecht and Golbez. Are you going to leave me here to rot or what?"

Jecht laughed again. "Can't get out yourself?"

"If I could, do you think I would still be in here?" I was starting to get annoyed.

"If you cannot even escape from this situation, then you do not deserve help," Golbez said.

I practically growled at him. What does he even mean? I quickly slipped a dagger from my leg sheath and threw it at Golbez. He casually raised his hand and caught the blade between his fingers. Scoffing, he tossed it back to me.

"Pitiful attempt, child," he said. "You can either escape on your own or rot here for the rest of eternity. It is your choice."

"If you wanted me to escape on my own, then why the hell did you come looking for me in the first place?!" I yelled at him.

Jecht grinned at me and my fiery energy. "He's right, kid. You need to learn to control your power and what better way than to get out of this cage? See ya."

Both he and Golbez started to slowly float out of view. I lunged at the bars and tried to grab a chunk of somebody's clothing but came back with empty air. I gripped the bars in cold anger. Leave me here to rot? I am not staying here and no one is going to tell me different. I-want-out! With this thought, my hands started to glow blue and the metal bars disintegrated where I held them. I jerked in surprise but ran my hands over the rest of the bars before the energy faded. As the last piece of metal floated to the ground in a rain of dust, my hands stopped glowing and I felt really tired. However, that didn't stop me from poking my head out of my cell and flipping the guys the finger. They both stood on a platform a few yards above the cell. Golbez nodded his head and Jecht was chuckling.

"Okay, I escaped my prison cell. Now would you help me out of here? It's not like I can fly out," I grumbled.

"Yes," Golbez said, "you have proven yourself to me." He stepped off of the platform and easily glided down to my little hole in the wall. He extended his hand to me. I hesitated but had no other choice but to trust he wasn't going to kill me or something. As I reached towards him, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to his body. He held me in a one-armed hug and floated back up to the platform. Jecht slapped me on the back as Golbez set me down.

"Ouch," I grunted.

"You did good, kid," Jecht replied.

"Lovely."

As I rotated my shoulders around in circles, a chunk of the platform broke away and started to float upwards. I looked up to see that Ultimecia's Castle had no roof in some spots. Some castle. As we floated through a hole in the roof, I glanced around to see nothing but barren land. The landscape was sharp, dark rock and sand. There were a few dead trees but nothing alive; nothing green.

"Well, this place is cheerful," I muttered.

"Yes, and we must cross it," Golbez replied.

"Great. Remind me to kick the witch lady's ass when I see her again." We started walking into the barren nothingness. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

We walked for hours and I was starting to get tired. The wind whipped my hair into my face and created little dust devils from the plentiful sand. This silence was starting to kill me.

"Okay guys, you mind if I take a stab at who you are?" I questioned, turning around to face them and walking backwards.

"Go ahead. Don't know what you're going to find out though," Jecht rumbled.

"You're Tidus's old man and you're Cecil's brother," I said, pointing to Jecht and Golbez respectively. They both stopped and looked at me in shock. I smiled in return.

"You know my crybaby of a son?" Jecht exclaimed.

"Yeah, but I don't think he was that much of a crybaby. He's a hyperactive idiot and obsessed with his ballgame."

"Yeah, that sounds like him." Jecht laughed and his eyes softened. I wonder how close Jecht and Tidus are.

"Do you play that game?"

"Of course I do! I'm the Great Jecht! Nobody can beat me at blitzball." Jecht swelled up with conceited pride.

"Watch it, Jecht. I'm not sure how much bigger your head can get. I can also see where Tidus gets his competitive edge from."

Jecht paused at my comments and his next remark surprised me. "How is my boy doing? Did he grow up okay?"

"Yeah, he's a good guy. Don't go soft on me though!"

"You don't have to worry about that!" Jecht grinned.

"And you," I said, pointing to Golbez. "Am I right about you?"

"You are quite perceptive, Kai. I am Cecil's older brother," Golbez responded.

"He talked of you. Do you realize how conflicted he is? Are you trying to make him worry?" Golbez drew back at my angry comments. I gazed at him with a hard look.

"I realize my actions may leave him questioning my intentions but this is the only way to truly help him. Everything I do is to aid my brother down his path."

"Down his path, huh. Would you like to enlighten me as to what his path is?"

"He must find his crystal. The crystal can only be found by a warrior who lives in the light. If I must live in the dark so he may live in the light, then so be it."

Wow. Is this what brotherly love is? I've never had a sibling before so I have no idea what he is thinking or feeling. "It sounds like it would be nice to have a sibling."

"It can be a challenge but well worth the reward."

"Jeez, are you his brother or father?"

Golbez chuckled at me. "Many times when you are an older brother you must act as a father."

"Hmmm. Sometimes I have to act like a mother for my immature friends. Does that count?"

"You a mother?!" Jecht exclaimed. "A pipsqueak like you?"

"Watch it 'Great Jecht'. I might have to kick your ass."

"I'd like to see you try, kid."

Jecht turned around to look at something behind him. I took the open opportunity and lunged at him only for Golbez to grab the back of my shirt and hold me back. He hoisted me into the air and my feet dangled about 3 inches off the ground. I squiggled around and tried to get loose but to no avail. Jecht turned around and laughed at my situation. I glared at him and went limp. Golbez was strong.

"Hey, Golbez?" I said.

"Yes?" He replied.

"My shirt already has holes in it. Does it really need to be stretched out too?"

He set me down and pushed me forward. I went his direction and kicked rocks as I walked. I was acting a little like a brat but I didn't care. If I was going to get poked and prodded by two strange men I just met right after getting my ass kicked by a witch, then I was going act like a brat. I may be mature but that doesn't stop me from being immature sometimes.

"Don't get so worked up, kid. We're almost there," Jecht said.

"Almost where?" I replied.

I looked up from the ground to discover a giant building in the distance. As we walked closer, I got a better look at the place. It was old and in disarray. It reminded me of those broken down old Abbey's in England. The building was very tall with dark rock walls and deep gold accents. There were holes in the walls and roof where the rocks collapsed and the front door looked like it had been blown in. The windows were high up and very narrow. I might have fit through them if I turned sideways and sucked in my gut, maybe. A row of beautifully carved pillars lined the trail to the Abbey but most of them had crumbled and fallen into little piles of rubble. I admired the decaying building all the way until we arrived at it. Before Golbez could grab my shirt again, I dashed to a semi-standing pillar and climbed to the top of it. I balanced on the sloping top to get a better look of the building. It may have been decaying, but I felt a sense of awe standing by it.

Golbez startled me out of my inner thoughts. "Kai, we must enter the Shrine."

I looked down to see Jecht smiling at me and Golbez holding out his hand. I jumped down and used his outstretched hand to help land. I smiled at both of them before walking in through the open door. The inside was just as beautiful and deteriorated. A ramp with an elegant red carpet led up to a crumbled black throne. Giant steps laced with gold were on either side of the ramp and pillars lined the hall holding up a ceiling carved with strange symbols. I walked to the middle of the floor, just before the ramp started, and turned around in a circle admiring the Shrine. It was amazing.

"Okay guys, what now?" I turned to face Jecht and Golbez.

"We must take our leave," Golbez replied.

"What?"

"We're leaving, kiddo," Jecht said.

"You bring me here only to leave me?"

"Yes," Golbez said. "You must wait here."

"Wait for what?"

"You'll see when the time comes."

With his final word, Golbez faded into darkness and disappeared. I looked to Jecht and he walked over. He slapped me on the back and gave me one final grin.

"See ya, kid. When you see my crybaby of a son again, tell him I'm proud of him."

"You're gonna tell him yourself when you see him. If you keep avoiding him, I'm going to come find you and give you that butt kicking I promised."

Jecht smirked at me and also faded away leaving me alone in this decrepit Shrine. Well, at least it's better than the cell in the bottom of Ultimecia's Castle. But what was I waiting for? I walked around for a bit and finally took a seat in the remnants of the old throne. I crossed my legs, propped my head on my right arm, and waited. I waited and waited until my stomach started to growl. The noise bounced off of the walls and sounded as though a tiger just roared.

"Perfect. Nothing like being hungry, tired, and confused."

Just then I heard the sound of metal on rock. My head popped up and I sat straighter in my seat. It sounded like someone was getting closer. I looked to the entrance and saw a man clad in blue and gold armor. His shoulder guards were in layers and there were spikes on his forearm guards. A white cloth hung around his hips which blended with the white cape around his shoulders. His helmet resembled a Vikings helmet with tall gold horns. He wore a blue shield on his left arm and carried a long sword in his right hand. He looked up and we locked gazes. I stood up as he walked closer. He soon met me at the throne and stood a couple feet in front of me. Good guy or bad, at least I don't have to wait anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

**For those who are still in school, I hope your first weeks went well. As always, thank you for reading and reviewing and please enjoy this chapter!**

Chapter 10 

He stared; just stared. It wasn't in that creepy stalker way but in an I-am-looking-into-your-soul way. I tried to hold his gaze but failed and looked away in under 2 minutes. I am so weak. Becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the current situation, I scuttled to the side and backed up a few steps. Luckily, the guy didn't follow. Now I have some breathing room. I took a deep breath, raised my head high, and broke the silence.

"Please stop staring at me. You're weirding me out."

My talking seemed to snap him out of his trance. He briskly walked up to me and knelt on his right knee. "My apologies, princess. I did not mean to stare."

"Princess. Okay, I'll let that one slide. Now may I ask who you are?"

"I do not remember my true name but I am known as the Warrior of Light."

"That is definitely a strange name and would you please stand up? You're making me uncomfortable."

The warrior swiftly rose and bowed his head. "My apologies miss."

"Please drop the formalities and call me Kai. And since neither of us knows your name I'll just call you Warrior, all right?"

"Yes, Kai."

This guy seems more ridged than the other guys, but what the heck I'll give it a go. "Can you tell me the relation between you and me? Why are you being so formal?"

"I am sorry, but I cannot divulge such information to you. You must-"

"Discover it on my own. Yes, yes, nine other people have told me the same thing."

He seemed to be truly disheartened by his inability to help. It made me feel bad. "Don't worry about it, Warrior. It's okay."

I smiled and reached over to pat his shoulder. As I touched him, the scenery around me blurred and I saw visions. Warrior faded away and I was standing alone. Ten crystals of different sizes, shapes, and colors hovered around me. I slowly twirled in a circle to try and see them all. I stopped and walked up to the nearest one. It was a long, rectangular sea blue crystal with a rough texture and milky white color on the top and bottom. It sparkled in the light and looked beautiful while slowly rotating in the air. I walked over and reached out my hand to touch it, but before I could the crystal shot into the air followed by the other nine. They swirled around each other and rapidly changed color from dark red to bright yellow. They suddenly stopped and spun as fast as they could to create a pillar of white light. It was so vibrant that I had to shield my eyes and turn away. Suddenly, the white turned to a deep black with a crimson tinge. I gazed at it as the red wriggled and snaked around the black hole in the air. The blackness made me nervous so I started to back away. As I did, a small bright light appeared in the middle of the black hole. It grew brighter and brighter until it split completely and hovered next to the darkness as an orb of light. I stopped mid step to look at both entities. The black hole pulsed and writhed as if promising me supreme power and command. The white orb shimmered like it was promising me truth and purity. Before I could approach either being, they grew larger and started to circle each other. They pulled closer and closer creating a new shape made of light and dark. The world pulsed and blurred before the shape could form into anything familiar. I tried to run towards it but found myself unable to move. I fought to get closer only for the world to turn fuzzy and gray. I felt as though I was falling backwards and I closed my eyes before I hit the floor, but the impact never came. I opened my eyes to find myself lying on my back in the old Shrine in the arms of the Warrior.

"Kai! Kai, wake up."

I groaned and sat up holding my head in my heads. I could feel one of my famous headaches coming on.

"Are you all right? What happened?" The Warrior was yelling pretty loudly.

"I'm fine, but could you tone it down a bit?" I massaged my temples to try and stop my headache.

"You fainted. What happened?"

"I just saw something. It wasn't anything important."

He knelt in front of me and grabbed my shoulders. "Just because you saw something doesn't mean it wasn't important. Will you tell me what you saw?"

My eyes snapped up and I stared at him. "No. This is my business so please stay out of it."

Warrior lowered his gaze and let go of me. "I am sorry. I did not mean to pry. Please forgive me."

"No, no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. Here, help me up." I smiled at him as he lifted me to my feet and made sure I didn't fall over again. I took a few deep breaths before stepping away and standing on my own two feet. At least my headache went away. I walked over to the crumbled throne and sat down. The Warrior came and stood before me. He seemed like he wanted to ask me a question but didn't say anything.

"Warrior, is there anything you wanted to say? If so, say it."

"I only wished to know how versed you are in the light."

I growled a bit in frustration. "Versed in the light. What does that even mean?"

"When a warrior fights, they can use the power of either darkness or light to fuel their attacks and magic. How have you been taught to fight?"

"I don't know. Cloud, Squall, Zidane, and Tidus taught me a couple days worth of swordsmanship and Terra and Onion Knight taught me a couple of spells. I learned all my moves from light warriors but I mainly used my powers in situations with dark warriors. I guess I use twilight attacks."

"I wish to show you how to use your powers while using only light energy. You cannot afford to become close to the darkness."

I jumped up and looked him straight in the eyes. "I cannot _afford_ to become close to the darkness? I _must _use light powers? Why is it your choice and not mine? Why is everything I do dictated by others? I'm not in control of my own life so who is?!"

The Warrior took a step back as faint blue energy wisped up around me like smoke. The more I thought about my current situation the angrier I got. Soon, the blue energy darkened and turned crimson. I realized by Warrior's shocked expression that something was wrong. I raised my clenched fist and looked at the dark energy rotating around it. I forced myself to relax my hand and think calming thoughts. What was wrong with me? I may get angry sometimes but nothing like this has ever happened. It scared me. After a few seconds, the energy circling me paled to blue and faded away. I fell into the seat of the throne and curled up in a ball. I don't want this. Why can't someone else be special?

The Warrior knelt before me. "Kai, are you all right?"

"No. I don't know what happened to me. I just got so angry."

"Dark powers already have a hold on you! You must learn about the light."

I sighed in frustration. He was right. "Fine. Just teach me what you want."

"Good. Now, sit up straight and close your eyes."

Well, this sounded familiar. I bet light energy is similar to magic energy or something like that. Anyway, I uncurled and sat upright in the throne. Relaxing my arms, I closed my eyes and tried to regulate my breathing. Complete relaxation seemed to make the process easier.

"Alright, now dig deep into your soul and feel the energy. Feel the many different types of energy coursing through you. Try to separate them and-"

Warrior's voice seemed to drift away and become a subtle drone in the background as I concentrated. Just as he said, I let my conscious mind bury deep into the energy that flowed throughout my body. This time, instead of seeing just one kind, I saw many different kinds in all sorts of colors and flows. The energy I usually used to fuel my magic was flowing smooth and slow with a pale blue white shimmer. It was calm, relaxing energy. I looked to my left and saw a pastel yellow and brilliant white energy that sparkled like frost on a sunny day. It felt very pure and clean. This must be the light Warrior was talking about. Coursing around the blue and yellow energy was a deep, sea blue energy. It looked like a large, fast flowing river spiraling around the others. I could feel immense power beyond anything I've ever felt before coming from it. Maybe this is the power everyone thinks I have. Reaching out, I tried to touch the energy. My hand felt like it hit a brick wall a couple inches from the flow. I tried harder but couldn't get any closer; it actually felt like I was getting farther away! Damn thing. I was getting ready to try again when I noticed a dark energy behind me. I turned around to see a dark crimson and black river of energy just as large as the blue river. It felt sinister yet powerful. This power didn't feel greater just different, more enticing. It felt as though I could use it easier without fear of running out. I took a step towards it and reached out my hand. Just a little touch wouldn't hurt. What would be the harm in that? I lightly brushed the dark energy with my fingertips and felt a crackle of energy run through my body. It felt, good. I went in for another feel only this time I plunged my hand into the river. It was coursing through me. This power was greater than anything I had felt or wielded. It was so easy! I could do anything I wanted with this. It was great, it was…wrong, too much. I opened my eyes to see that same crimson energy crackling around me. Warrior was a few feet back fighting off the energy that wanted to consume him. With a shout, I closed down my channel to the energy and felt the air return to normal. I can't believe that darkness felt so good. Wait, darkness was bad. Grrrr, now I was getting confused.

"Don't touch the darkness! Don't ever touch it. It may feel good or powerful, but it isn't. It's just a façade. The darkness will consume you; there will be nothing left."

I breathed heavily from the excitement. "Exhilarating. I have to fight to get a scrap of energy from some rivers but this comes easily."

"It's just trying to deceive you. If you look closely, the dark river is actually small and unstable. The light will give you what you want."

"And what do I want?" I jumped to my feet and stared Warrior down. "What is it that I want? Tell me would ya? It seems like I can't have opinions anymore!"

Warrior looked taken aback. "You always will have your own thoughts and opinions, Kai."

"Then why does everybody think they know what is best for me? The good guys the bad guys it doesn't matter. Everyone is trying to control me and for what? Some power that has been locked in me since birth? They can have it for all I care!"

"How can you say that? You are the guardian of this power. You are the only one who can control it!"

"I didn't ask for this! I don't want supreme power or absolute control. I just want to go back home to my friends; to my normal life." I hunched over and threw my face in my hands. No, I couldn't let myself cry. This isn't the time to go all soft. I am not a marshmallow. Warrior stretched out his hand and placed it on my shoulder. I smacked it away and glared at him. He was not allowed to touch me.

"I am sorry for offending you, Kai. I did not mean to impose my beliefs on you."

I looked away ashamed. I knew I was being a brat. I was taking my anger and frustrations out on a bystander who was only trying to help me. How could I let my emotions take hold of me like that? It has never happened before. I could feel something was wrong, but couldn't place exactly what. It doesn't matter.

I bowed low to Warrior in an apology. "I am very sorry for being such as ass towards you. I know you are only trying to help. Please forgive me."

"No princess, please don't bow to me. I do not deserve it."

I stood up and saw that Warrior wanted to reach out to me but was too hesitant. "I told you before, don't call me princess."

Warrior smiled as I smiled at him. He really was only trying to help. "Okay, the dark river is off limits. It makes me kinda coocoo."

"I am glad to hear that."

"No, Kai. Use the darkness for it will make you stronger," a mysterious voice said from the door of the Shrine. The warrior and I both whirled to look at the uninvited visitor. He was a tall, muscular man encased in dark gray armor from head to toe. He had two wicked looking horns on his helmet and various blue gems on his armor that matched the color of his dark blue cloak. He was carrying a gigantic triangle sword with lines running horizontal on it. The sword must have been heavy because he was dragging it on the ground as he walked. I'm not sure how he could have snuck up on us because his walking was _very _loud. Armor does not do well for stealth.

"Garland," Warrior spat to the guy.

I frowned and crossed my arms. "He says to not use the darkness and you say to use it. Will you people please just shut up about it? What do you want?"

"I want your power. With its might, I will-"

"Take it and control the universe or enslave all human kind. The standard bad guy stuff, right?" Jeez, who was this freak?

"I will use it to break the never ending cycle of battle!"

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Never heard that one before. And how exactly do you plan to end the cycle of battle? Destroy the world?"

"Precisely." He started to laugh a deep, evil laugh. Typical.

"So in the process of destroying the world you will destroy yourself also. That's smart."

Warrior held up his hand for silence. "Please do not encourage him, Kai. He really will take your power and destroy the world."

"You misunderstand me, Warrior of Light," Garland said with a smirk in his voice. "I do not plan on taking her power. I plan on destroying it!"

I scrunched up my face in confusion. "You can't destroy energy. It's the basic law of Conservation of Energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred."

"Spare me the lecture."

"What a rude jerk-face."

Warrior again held up his hand for my silence. "Have you come to take Kai, Garland?"

"No. I have come to kill her!" With that, Garland leapt into action and ran at me full speed. Not that he could run very fast with all that armor on. Warrior pushed me back and ran at him with his sword drawn. The force of their swords meeting sent a small shockwave through the Shrine. I stood in awe as both men stared at each other refusing to budge an inch. Garland broke the stale mate and swung his massive sword at Warrior's head. Warrior easily dodged and struck out like a snake. Garland dodged and spun on the ground like a top trying to draw Warrior into some kind of wind vortex. He was surprisingly fast when he swung his sword. Warrior jumped backwards to avoid being sucked in and sent a pillar of light at Garland. He rolled to the side and smashed his sword into the ground creating a giant crater where he knelt. This threw Warrior off balance and sent him rolling into the hole. Garland tried to smash Warrior with brute force, but Warrior was nimbly dodging each of his attacks. They suddenly leapt into the air and fought 10 feet above the ground. Garland threw his sword and it detached from his hilt. The only thing connecting the two pieces of metal was a thick chain. He twisted it around trying to ensnare Warrior. Warrior easily dodged these attempts and threw his shield in Garland's face. It hit home and Garland sailed into the floor creating a crater where he landed. Warrior landed and stood in a defensive position. This guy was good.

"Holy crap, Warrior," I exclaimed. "I didn't know you could fight so well."

"As I said, the light is always the true path."

"Yeah, no shit." I walked past Warrior and gingerly stood on the edge of the crater where Garland fell. I peeked over the edge to see a motionless Garland lying on the ground. I gave a low whistle and turned around. That guy was out cold. As I was walking back towards Warrior, I felt a rush of air behind me. I simultaneously drew my sword and turned around to face whatever was coming. I barely parried Garland's angry attack and was pushed back many feet from the brute force of it. How did he get up so fast? I thought he was out!

"You must not let your guard down, Kai," Garland yelled, detaching his sword and throwing it at me. I deflected it and rolled to the side. Warrior tried to divert Garland's attention back to him, but Garland punched Warrior into a nearby pillar which proceeded to topple on him.

"Warrior!" I screamed, sprinting over to him. Before I got halfway there, Garland jumped into my path and wrapped the chain around my body pinning my arms against my sides. He pulled the chain tight and I grunted in pain. Chain was sharper than I thought. I struggled but that only tightened the chain more. Garland grabbed the blade portion of his sword with his left hand and pointed the tip of it at my throat. I stood still with sweat pouring down my face. I really was going to die.

"Do not worry. I will make this quick. You will feel nothing." I could see the glee in his shiny yellow eyes. This guy was truly evil.

"If you think I'm going to die here, you are sorely mistaken." The sharpness in my voice surprised me. I sounded a lot braver than I felt. I felt like I was going to puke.

"Fighting until the end. You resemble your ancestors more than you realize."

"Is that a fact?"

"May your power guide you to the other side."

"Thanks for gesture." With my final word, I quickly ducked beneath the sword point and shoved my shoulder into Garland's stomach. It hurt a hell of a lot, but it gave me enough slack to slide right out of the chain's grasp. I rolled to the side and brought my sword up in a defensive position. Garland had reattached his blade to his hilt and swung it at me. I squeezed my eyes shut and braced for impact, but it never came. I opened my eyes to see Warrior in front of me absorbing the impact. He drove Garland's sword away and shoved me back with his foot. I got the hint and ran a few feet back. Let the professional swordsman deal with the murderous assassin. While Warrior and Garland fought, I looked down my arms to see slits in my shirt and skin where the chain had held me. Blood was slowly leaking down my arms and dripping onto the floor. Shit, now my sword hilt was all slippery. I quickly wiped my hands and wrists on my pants. This outfit was going to be burned later on.

"Watch out, Kai!" Warrior's voice snapped me out of my thoughts and brought me back to the action. Garland was practically on top of me with his sword pointing down. Without thinking, I threw my arms over my head to try and shield myself from his attack. A thin dome of white gold light appeared above my head. Garland's sword crashed into the dome breaking it, but sending him flying to the side. I fell to the ground dazed. He packs on hell of a punch. Rolling onto my back, I breathed heavily. I must be more tired than I thought.

Warrior came and stood to my side. "Are you all right?"

"Peachy."

He smiled at me before a boulder smashed into his chest sending him flying backwards. I gasped in surprise and tried to stand up. The best I could do was to sit. I saw Warrior struggling to his feet before a tremendous pain erupted in my stomach. It felt like someone had gripped my intestines and ripped them through my skin. I screamed and looked to see Garland's sword protruding from my stomach. He stood over me and laughed a haunting laugh. I weakly gripped the blade of his sword in a feeble attempt at lessening the excruciating pain. Tears streaked down my face and I let out another voice shattering cry as Garland twisted the blade and stuck it deeper.

"With your death, the never-ending cycle of battle between light and dark will end. Darkness with reign over all!" Garland ripped the sword from my body and stepped back. I twitched and coughed up mouthfuls of dark red blood. As my world started to gray around the edges, Warrior leapt over me and pushed Garland into the nearby wall. He swung as if to decapitate Garland, but Garland slid through a black portal in the wall and out of site. The portal closed just as Warrior was about to follow. He let out a string of curses before running back over to me and holding my head in his lap. I coughed blood onto his armor and his eyes filled with sorrow.

"Don't look at me like that," I wheezed. I can't stand it when people look at me with eyes full of sadness or pity.

"I promised to keep you safe. I promised to-"

"You don't need to promise me anything. I-I'm just happy I could meet everyone…everyone who wanted to help me."

I felt like I was floating. My body became warm and light as the blood continued to pool on the ground. I closed my eyes as a nice feeling glowed in the center of my chest. If this is what it feels like to die, it's not so bad. My chest felt hotter and hotter until it became painful. I opened my eyes to see my chest actually glowing. It was a brilliant ruby red glow that grew brighter and brighter until it leapt from my chest and hovered in the air. I watched with detached awe as the light grew larger and formed into a winged bird. The glow subsided to show a giant orange, red, and gold phoenix with feathery wings and surrounded by flames. It gently landed on the ground and stared at me. I stared back and tried to say something, but it was as if I had no vocal chords.

_I have come to you on the edge of death. Do you want to continue living?_

I couldn't think of an answer. The only thing I could do was to gaze upon the phoenix.

_Answer quickly for I cannot tarry. Do you want to live or shall I let you die?_

I shook my head. "I want to live."

The phoenix lifted its mighty head and let out a screech. Warrior jumped back as I burst into flame. The flames weren't hot; they were cool. I could feel the skin on my stomach close and nit together. A warming liquid rushed through my veins making me feel alive. The flames suddenly left and the phoenix disappeared in a flash of red light. I lay stunned and afraid. Was I alive or had I died? Reaching up, I laid my hand on my stomach to feel smooth skin. I sat up and looked to see my body perfect even if there was almost nothing left of my shirt and vest. Leaping to my feet, I spun around to get a good look at myself. I was whole. I was alive!

"Thank you, Phoenix!" I grinned and looked over to a stunned Warrior. He was kneeling on the ground with his mouth hanging open. I walked over and helped him to his feet.

"Are you all right?" I questioned. This seemed to snap him out of his daze.

"You're alive! But how did you get that summon?"

"I don't know. I just picked it up along the way."

He gave me a knowing smile. "You are truly the guardian of the light. Come, we must join with the others and take back your kingdom."

I gave him a puzzled look. "How? I still can't use my power."

"Everyone has gained their crystals. Once all the crystals are joined, you will-"

"Be able to tap into the power and control it. It is my destiny."

"You are finally able to see."

I laughed. "No. I just have watched too many movies. Lead the way oh great Warrior."

He briskly walked out of the Shrine with me at his heels. I was done running. This time the bad guys were going to be the ones surprised.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the extremely long delay. Writers block is a real pain. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this longer chapter. The story is coming to a close and there is probably only going to be one chapter left. Sad, right? Please enjoy and review if you can.**

Chapter 11

"Not to be an annoying pipsqueak or anything, but where are we going and when are we going to get there?" We were still walking through the barren wasteland but instead of the sharp, dark blue rocks and lots of sand it was sharp, light blue rocks with a little less sand and more floating Force orbs. I grabbed a few while we walked and sighed with the slight increase in energy. I loved these things. It felt like drinking an energy drink without the liquid part.

"Soon," Warrior replied without looking at me. He had been staring into the distance the entire time we were walking. What the hell was he looking at? I pranced up behind him and walked on my tip toes to get at approximately the same height. I looked to where he was looking and saw…nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"What are you looking at?" I asked, peeking around his shoulder to get a good look at his face. He glanced at me before looking forward again.

"The distance."

"Oh, silly me. How obvious."

He shook his head. "The distance can mean many things. Where we are going, where we have been…"

"What fate might hold for us, how small problems can actually loom as we get closer," I finished. He looked at me with surprise. "I took English 101 too."

"At any rate, we should be arriving at the sanctuary soon."

"Sanctuary? Like a church or a convent? Weren't we already at one?"

"No, nothing like that. It is only a place to which many a wandering soul have found peace. A place of solitude and thought."

"Sound like a library at midnight if you ask me."

"Forgive my rudeness, but nobody asked you."

I looked at him in surprise. Did he actually say that to me? "There you go Warrior. If it's possible, please keep talking to me like your friend and not your princess."

"Do you admit that you are a princess?"

"All the evidence points to something like that, so I have come to the decision that I won't run from the idea anymore. I will just have to accept that I 'might' be the princess of a kingdom I have never heard of and I 'might' have some special power that will save everyone." I paused for a moment in thought. "Okay, I do have some special power that will probably save everyone…on the other hand, everyone calls me princess so it must be true…on the other hand, my life has been weird lately…on the other hand…"

"How many hands do you have?"

"Opps, I was ranting wasn't I? These Force orbs give me lots of energy."

"That's an improvement over the near death experience you just had."

"It is, isn't it? Life is full of twists and turns. I just didn't expect mine to do a one-eighty."

"We never see or expect the things that happen to us. What truly matters is what we do when the time comes."

I bumped his shoulder with my fist. "Don't go getting all philosophical on me now."

"Now may be the only time."

I paused after that comment. What exactly did he mean? 'Now may be the only time' are things people who are about to die say. About to die… "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're not dying any time soon, are you?"

He looked at me in surprise. "What brought this thought on?"

I wrinkled my forehead. "You brought this on."

"I do not recall talking about death. If I remember correctly, you started that."

"Are you saying I'm morbid?"

"I did not say that."

"But you were thinking it, weren't you. Don't try to deny it!"

"Princess, please. Stop putting words in my mouth."

"Humpf." I ran ahead so I didn't have to talk anymore. Warrior trotted up and walked beside me. I ran ahead again and he followed again.

"I'm never going to get rid of you!" I huffed.

"It is my sworn duty to protect you."

I sighed and actually looked to where we were. Instead of sand there were blue and white stalagmite crystals jutting out from the ground. Strands of green energy hung in the air begging me to jump on and run along them. Dark gray mountains loomed in the background giving me the sense of how small I really was. I stopped in my tracks to breath it all in. It was so different from where I grew up and I felt like I was suffocating from the alienness of everywhere I've been. How can I do what everyone is asking me to do? I've never been special in my entire life. How does everyone expect me to act, to think?

"Kai?" Warrior questioned.

I snapped out of my inner thoughts and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"Over there." Warrior pointed to an area a quarter mile away where many people were gathered. I squinted and saw a blue object streaking towards me. I reached my hands out in time to catch a blitzball. The force of it made me stumble back into Warrior.

"Ohhh, I'm gonna kill that blonde haired idiot!" I yelled, squeezing the ball so hard it almost popped.

"How did he throw it so far?" Warrior asked, plucking the ball from me.

"Because he's an idiot!"

"That doesn't even make sense."

"It doesn't have to!" I grabbed the ball from Warrior and began running towards the group of guys. When I could finally see Tidus' face clearly, I chucked it with all my strength. The ball whizzed through the air and landed right in his face. He stumbled back and swore.

"What was that for?!" He yelled, removing the ball from his face and glaring at me. His face was a combination of red and purple. I didn't know I could through that hard.

"You almost killed me with that stupid ball again!"

"What do you mean again?" At least Tidus wasn't yelling anymore. That doesn't mean I wasn't.

"A couple of days ago while I was training. You don't remember?"

"That was just a playful throw." His face took on a puzzled look and he started to twirl the ball on his index finger. Damn him for being so laid back.

"A playful throw? You dented the bark on that tree!"

"You can't dent bark."

"Don't get technical with me."

"Oh, come on. Don't take is so hard. I'm sorry, okay?"

My anger deflated as soon as I heard that last sentence. I never could stay angry. I smacked him playfully before walking to the rest of the guys. Most of them greeted me enthusiastically once I got into hearing range.

"Hey girl!" Bartz called.

"Still have that temper I see," Zidane said.

"Watch it, shorty," I retorted.

"Come on, you know you love me," he replied.

"Yeah, like a person loves a rash."

"Did you just compare me to a rash?"

"Yeah, whatcha gonna do about it?"

Zidane smirked and ran at me. I slipped into a defensive position but Cloud pulled me out of the way and grabbed Zidane by the forehead. He tried to punch Cloud but his arms were too short. I laughed at the stupidity of it. Squall walked up and lightly smacked the back of my head. "I'm surprised you're still in one piece. I thought that temper would get the better of you."

"Don't worry. It did. Many times."

"Kai!" Terra cheeped, hugging me in a rush of blonde hair. I hugged her quickly and held her at arms length. Happy as always with little plume head in tow.

"Getting better at that magic?" Onion Knight said, popping up between us. If I didn't know better, I would think he had a crush on Terra.

"Better believe it, shrimp. I can now do a whole thunder spell without frying anybody."

"Bet I could still beat you."

"Bet you couldn't."

"Could to!"

"Could not!"

Firion suddenly appeared beside me and pulled me back before I took a swing at the kid. Cecil did the same for Onion Knight.

"Remember to calm yourself, Kai, and fight with a cool head," Firion said, smiling at me. "One does not win a fight with anger."

I sighed. "Yes Mr. Guru. I'll remember that next time an uppity little sprout gets all up in my grill."

Cecil laughed and shook his head. "I'm not sure if I'll ever understand some of your remarks."

"Good. If men understood women, the world would implode."

"You always did have a weird sense of humor," Tidus said.

"I speak only the truth, blitzball brain. Don't you know these finite rules of the universe?"

"You can fill us in along the way, Princess. But we really should get moving," Warrior said, grasping my shoulder and steering me towards the north.

"Going? Going where?" I have long since gotten over the princess nickname. It still bugged me a bit, but there is no getting though this guy's thick skull. Or for that matter, his helmet.

"There is a battle to be fought against the Warriors of Darkness. A battle for the Kingdom of Destingaard. Your kingdom."

"Yeahhhh." That woman from my dream a couple of nights ago talked about taking on the power of her kingdom to save everyone or something like that. I still only half believed that, but the other half couldn't deny that this entire thing is true. It kinda sucks to be an internal contradiction.

"Okay, so how long is Destingaard from…here," I said, waving my hands around and motioning to the general area.

"You seem to be fond of that question," Warrior replied.

"Do you not like traveling?" Bartz asked, walking beside me.

"It's not the traveling per se, it's how long it takes to get everywhere." I stuck my hands in my pockets and gazed to the mountains ahead of us. I wonder if Destingaard is before or after those mountains because I sure don't want to climb them.

"Did you travel a lot back where you grew up?"

"Yeah, my dad…well, foster dad I guess. I suppose I didn't ever meet my dad. Anyway, he took me all over the world in his private jet. Those flights were long and numerous. I loved and hated it at the same time."

"What is your dad's occupation?" Squall asked.

"He was a business man. The CEO of a powerful electronics company. He would always take me to his meetings when they were out of the country."

"Was?"

"He died a few months before I met you guys. He was in a car crash."

"Oh, Kai!" Bartz, Zidane, and Tidus cried, crashing into my back and knocking me to the ground in a giant hug. I groaned while Warrior, Squall, and Cloud hoisted the guys off of me. They may look small but they were heavy! Terra helped me up as I gasped for breath. They seemed to have knocked the wind right out of my lungs and I was having a hard time getting it back. Onion Knight was laughing silently and I resisted the urge to zap his little butt.

"I don't think I'll be able to get there in one piece if this keeps up," I groaned.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you do," Warrior, Firion, and Cecil said at the same time. I blinked at the unison sentence. I've never heard so many people say the same thing at once.

"I believe you guys but just in case…" I ran behind Cloud and Squall sticking rather close to both of them. "I think I'll just stay back here."

"Fine," Warrior said. "But we need to pick up the pace. The world won't wait for us."

"I wish it would. Why doesn't the world wait for me?"

"That's an absurd question. I would think it would be obvious," Squall said, looking back to me.

I stuck out my tongue and moved closer to Cloud. "There's no need to be mean about it."

Cloud smiled and thunked me on the back before moving ahead. I grinned like a fool and ran to catch up with the group. I got a few whoops and smart comments from the rowdy members, but ignoring them was actually easier than kicking them to a pulp and grinding their bones to make my bread. That would have tasted disgusting anyway. As these thoughts ran through my head, the landscape slowly changed from dusty blue to murky brown as tufts of grass grew from the dirt. Soon, we were walking through a field of dry, brown grass and withered trees. I walked up to a nearby stump and watched it disintegrate beneath my gentle touch.

"What the hell is going on? Why is everything dead?" I asked, my anger growing with every word. This area is close to my kingdom. So what the hell happened to make everything decay?

Warrior looked at me with a somber expression. "The Kingdom of Destingaard was the most beautiful and fertile kingdom in the world until eighteen years ago when the wings disappeared without a trace. Without the constant power of the wings, the land slowly withered and the crops began to fail. Then, a group of people came and destroyed any hope of the land recovering. Fire consumed much of the land and hope left the people of the kingdom. Nothing revived and is as you see it now."

"Let me guess," I growled, seething with anger. "The group of people that came are the ones I have been fighting. The ones that want the power within me, right?"

"That's right," Cecil said, taking over for Warrior. "With your power, they can revive the kingdom and start to invade neighboring ones. You are the only person who stands between them and their goals."

"Me, huh? Well, they are just asking for some butt whooping aren't they? I'll make sure not to disappoint."

"Easy on the bravado, firecracker," Zidane said.

"Yeah. Why do you always talk like that about your enemies when you know they are stronger than you?" Onion Knight asked.

"At the moment they are," I pointed out, stroking one of the feathers on his head. Those things are so soft!

He swatted my hand away. "You didn't answer my question."

"You'll know once you get to know me better."

"That's not an answer either!"

"Yes it is. It's just not the one you are looking for."

"The girl has a point," Tidus said. "So can you give us the answer he was looking for?"

"Nope. You'll have to figure it out on your own. You're smart enough, right?"

"I'm not sure about that one," Squall said, looking back to make sure we hadn't gotten into any trouble.

"Hey!" Tidus yelled.

I giggled at them and ran ahead a few feet. I suddenly stopped as the land dropped off the edge of a small cliff and gasped as I saw what was before me. There was a huge expanse of land the size of a city with ramshackle houses dotting the land. The buildings got more numerous towards a small hill in the middle of the landscape where the most beautiful castle I have seen sat. It had the beauty and majesty of the Disney Castle with the fortifications and power of a medieval German fortress. Everything was brown, deep gray, and dying. Though the castle looked magnificent, everything around it looked ready to drop. I saw people trying to till and grow crops in the infertile soil. Others were herding small flock of malnourished sheep and cows. Everyone looked thin and on the verge of starvation.

As anger bubbled up in me, a dizzy wave swept across my vision and I fell to my knees. Pictures of a lush, green valley and happy people flashed across my eyes. Shiny armored knights, plentiful feasts, and shining skies flickered across my vision making me sick and lonely. Was this what the land looked like years ago? How long have the people suffered and when had the skies gone dark? Was I to save them? Could I save them?

A pair of strong hands slowly laid my head in someone's lap as I passed in and out of consciousness. These visions where too much for me to handle and tears leaked from my eyes. Voices murmured in the background as I tried to grasp what was real and not. One minute I saw a barren sky and the next the world was sunny with flocks of birds flying by. The changes happened so fast I was getting nauseous. I closed my eyes and slowly the nausea passed and the visions ceased. I opened my eyes and looked into Cloud's clear blue ones. His face was a mask of worry as he brushed the tears from my cheeks. Realizing what was going on, I bolted up and landed on my hands and knees. I pushed myself up and rubbed my eyes forcefully to remove any traces of tears. Turing around, I faced ten worried and concerned faces.

"I will fix what happened to my kingdom. I will make it right…no matter what."

Warrior walked up and knelt before me. One by one, the others did the same. "Are you ready to accept your destiny?"

My body went ridged and I nodded. I realize now that I was just running away from what I didn't want or know. Just because I wasn't raised as royalty didn't mean I wasn't. Just because I didn't want power doesn't mean I don't have it. Just because this wasn't originally my problem doesn't mean it isn't now. I will restore my kingdom and I will make those who destroyed it pay.

Warrior stood and pulled a blue and white crystal from midair. "In the name of the light, I bestow this crystal from my kingdom to the Princess of Destingaard."

The crystal slowly rose in the air hung ten feet above us. Each person in turn verbally bequeathed their crystal to me and soon there where ten crystals revolving around each other in the air. As I gazed upon the brilliance of each on, they slowly sped up. The crystals revolved and moved faster and faster until it was just a blur of color. Suddenly, they all collided and a bright light blinded me. As I shielded my eyes, I could feel a power grow before me. When the light died down, the crystals descended and floated in front of me. They joined together to form and abstract shape of many colors and hues that suspiciously looked like a pair of wings. The finished crystal was beautiful except for the one missing piece in the middle in the shape of a crescent moon. I smiled and fingered the necklace at my chest. Could it be that simple? The ten greatest warriors can together and found the crystals of their kingdoms. Could it be that all I had to do was fit the last crystal in and my powers would be released? Nothing is ever that simple, but maybe this time it was. I pulled my crystals from my neck and fitted it in the space. It fit perfectly. I waited and…nothing. The members of my entourage looked stunned at the lack of response. What was wrong?

"Why?" I removed the crescent, amethyst crystal from the structure and turned it over. The back of the necklace, where three strange symbols used to be, was empty.

"This isn't my necklace! Where is my crystal?!" I yelled, whipping around and staring at the stormy sky. A blinding light erupted in front of us and ten figures appeared, floating just beyond the cliff edge. There they stood. The ten people who both helped and hurt me. Leading the way was the Emperor decked out in all his golden malice.

"A pawn till the end," he said, smirking at me. I growled as he held up the real amethyst necklace. "Is this what you were looking for?"

I clenched my hands to keep my anger in check. Exploding now would get me nowhere. I glared at Ultimecia who returned it with and open grin. "You did it, didn't you? When you put me in that cell. You stole my necklace!"

"How clever of you to figure it out," she replied arrogantly. "I'm afraid you are too late though. With this crystal, we will gain your power and rebuild the world anew starting with this fallen kingdom."

"It's my power! I will do with it what I please!"

"No, Kai. That is not how it works," Garland interjected.

Emperor turned the crystal around to show me the back. "You see these symbols. These are an ancient protective enchantment used to retrieve the power of the wings. Originally, they ensured that the bearer of the wings maintained power over them. However, I have modified the spell. Once activated, whoever inserts this into the crystal and completes the awakening of the wings will ensure control over them."

"So if you complete the crystal then you can control me?!"

"Exactly. And I see you have gathered the crystals and created the unfinished door to power. How fortunate for me."

"We will never let you have control over the wings!" Warrior shouted.

"We will defend Kai," Cloud continued.

"We will destroy you and your plans for destruction!" Squall finished with an agreeing shout from everyone else.

"Pitiful beings," Garland cried, drawing his sword. "You shall be exterminated by the darkness. Submit!"

He threw his detachable sword at the cliff face and sent a surge of power to the rocks. The cliff edge began to crumble as the people in the valley below screamed in terror of the imminent threat. I threw myself into the unfinished crystal and shoved it from the collapsing cliff. Tidus, Terra, and Onion Knight formed a defense around the crystal as everyone else, include me, rushed at the opposing team to get back the final crystal and massacre them. Warrior gave me a leg up and sent me flying at the nearest opponent, Cloud of Darkness. I spiraled in with a fire attack already swirling around the blade of my sword. Her tentacle snake jabbed and snapped at me, but I dodged and tried to slice at her face. She easily avoided it and sent an energy beam at me. I rolled to the side and wildly struck out with my sword. I felt an instant of resistance as my blade caught one of the snakes and cut it clean off. She cried out in pain and rage as she showered bits of black power down like rain. Cloud appeared above me and blocked all the magic with some fancy swordsmanship.

I darted from his protection and cast a mighty thunder spell that caught many people in its wake. It slowed down Sephiroth enough for me to slice open his side and move on to Kefka. He bounced around like the demented clown that he was. This made it a lot harder to track his movements. I attempted a few cautious swings to try and catch him off guard, but he easily deflected and sent me flying with a massive fire explosion. I crashed to the ground but got up and moved just in time for multiple dark energy balls to slam right where I was lying. Kuja's high pitched laugh echoed in my ears as more energy balls flew at me. I dodged a few but started running wildly away with the rest of the attack in hot pursuit. Cecil easily dispatched the attack as I ran past and right into the unseen trap of Ultimecia. A hale of fuchsia arrows descended from the sky as I weaved in and out of fighting people. I deflected a few and launched myself at the witch. She easily blocked my attack and directed me towards the ground. I crash landed again, but got up quickly.

Firion pushed me aside as she swooped in for the kill. I launched an ice attack at a distracted Garland and froze him to the ground. Squall took care of him as I moved on and drenched Sephiroth in and ice-water bath attack. He slashed at me but cried out as a thunder spell conducted through his dripping flesh. I jumped from his smoking body right into the black hole of Exdeath. The darkness felt suffocating, but I lashed out with a light attack and shot out of the darkness. I ran up to Exdeath and smashed his helmet with the pommel of my scimitar. He cried out in pain and the fight was immediately taken over by an angry Bartz. He did not like the fact that Exdeath was trying to kill me. I ran over to a now free Garland and dodged his initial massively destructive attack that split the ground in two. I readied for an attack just before Zidane smashed into me and sent us both to the ground. We helped each other up and attacked Garland at the same time. He easily deflected my initial attack but stumbled back as Zidane showed him a taste of an angry man with pointy daggers.

I tripped over a jagged rock and fell on my side. Before I could get up, the point of Sephiroth's blade was poking into my neck. His eyes flashed menacingly as I noticed that much of his clothing was in tatters. Those lightning attacks sure don't do much for fashion. I tried to worm away but that just drew blood as the sword tip cut into my skin. I tried to summon some magic attack but the sword again cut into me distracting me from releasing it. He jumped back and freed me just as Cloud's sword sliced passed him. I got to my feet and ran at Squall who was neck deep in Kefka. I helped him hold Kefka back before breaking off and helping Cecil with Kuja. Once Cecil had him under control, I broke off again and rested for a second. I was fading fast and didn't realize the trap I walked into until it was too late. An intricate design lit up the ground beneath me as an evil energy crackled around my skin. The attack exploded and sent me flying through the air where a gloating Emperor caught me by the neck. I clawed at his hands trying to get some air as he laughed a laugh that set my hair on end.

"It is over, Kai. You and your pathetic warriors are no match for the power of darkness. I will show you how futile it is."

Emperor glided down to the ground and walked me over to the unfinished crystal by my neck. I had enough air to breath, but I felt like passing out. The only thing keeping me up was him. Both Tidus and Terra had been pulled from their posts to fight against the others and Emperor easily tossed Onion Knight aside with a flick of his staff. He stood before the crystal and pulled out my amethyst necklace.

"Witness now the revival of power and the rebirth of the world. You will do my bidding as remake the earth as I see fit. Now, awaken!"

He slid the last piece into place and completed the crystal. Time seemed to stop as the sound of a lock being opened echoed through the land. The crystal wings exploded into pale blue light and pain erupted from my back. I cried in agony as the door to my true power was ripped from its hinges and energy surged through me. I collapsed to the ground and hugged myself as the agony intensified. I was going to split in two. This power was going to crush me. Pain rippled through my back as wings exploded from where my tattoos were. No, my tattoos came to life! Pure white wings that faded to pale blue at the tips grew to full length and pushed Emperor back a few steps. The crystal that was a door to my power disintegrated before my eyes. All that was left was my crescent moon necklace. I reached out a trembling hand and picked it up. Turning it over, I ran my fingers over the three symbols etched into the back.

"The transformation is complete. Now, stand and obey me!" Emperor raised his hand and turned toward the others. I shakily got to my feet and faced them too. Nobody was fighting. Everything seemed to stop and wait for me to do something.

"Kai, I want you to destroy your warriors. Let them taste the divine fruit that is betrayal. Erase them from existence!"

I breathed heavily as this massive power flowed through me. It gathered at my hands. It wanted to be released, to kill. I clenched my hands and fell to my knees.

"I won't do it," I breathed, too tired from holding back this power. "I won't…be your slave. You can't…control me."

"You _will_ do as I say. Destroy them!"

White blue energy coursed around me as I held back the power. I won't kill. I won't! I won't! The energy exploded around me as I cried in frustration. Emperor was thrown back as a vortex of wind circled my body. The power consumed my vision hazing the landscape and filling my eyes. I tried to stop the surge of power only for everything to stop. I stumbled from the sudden change in force and my eyes cleared. Before me stood many women dressed in long, elegant dresses. Each had an expression of happiness and knowledge. None looked familiar except for one. Standing before me was the woman I had seen in a vision. The black haired beauty in the emerald dress. She smiled at me and curtsied.

"Hello. We have been expecting you," she said in a sweet voice slightly higher than mine.

I looked around dazed and finally noticed the wings that surrounded me. I twirled to try and get a better look. It was truly angelic.

"Yes, those are the wings that are the power of Destingaard itself. You are the bearer of the wings just as we have been generations before."

I looked around again and saw that each woman looked slightly like me. We all had the same bone structure and dark hair that ranged from brown to black. I tried to say something, but words didn't come. The lady before me smiled indulgently.

"You truly are royalty. The last of the Destingaard line. I believe you have seen the story of how the wings were created through a vision not a day ago. Correct?"

I nodded and gulped. "You…are the one who originally took the burden of the wings. You are the creator."

Her laugh was like the tinkling of bells. "Yes, I suppose you could say that. I merely am the vessel in which the original power was placed. Each time a girl was born into the Destingaard line, the wings passes from mother to daughter. It is no different for you."

"But what happened?" I blurted, interrupting her. "What happened eighteen years ago?"

Her smile faded. "The Emperor Mateus and those who conspired with him invaded this land just as the wings were sealed within your tiny body. The power could not be called upon, for it was still adjusting to its new vessel, when he entered the nursery where your mother was holding you. She refused to give you to them and instead sent you to another world where you would be safe from their wicked plans. When the Emperor realized what she had done, he struck and killed her. His collaborators continued to kill everyone in the castle until the royal line was dead. His anger increased when he discerned that there was no way to locate you or your power. He destroyed the kingdom and burnt the land and without the power of the wings, the land could not recuperate. Trees withered and crops failed. However, you grew up safely and were adopted by loving parent, correct?"

"Yes. But they died too. I am truly alone."

The lady shook her head. "No. With the wings, you will forever have those who came before to guide you. You will only be alone if you believe that to be the case. Know this; to act alone is to be alone."

"What of Emperor's spell? He said he changed the protection charm to his will. He said he can control me!"

"Has he yet? Did you do what was demanded of you?"

"No! I could never kill my friends."

"That protection charm may have worked years ago, but because you were transported to a different world the charm faded and died. You must again activate it before it may work again. With your activation, any attempt at modification will fail. He simply used a coercion spell to try and control you. You fought it off. You have proven that you won't be controlled."

I breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the moon in my hand. Flipping it over, I ran my finger down the symbols and instinctively recited an ancient spell. The symbols glowed blue before fading back to silver. "The charm is activated and I accept my destiny. Thank you, my grandmother."

Her smile widened. "Many centuries your grandmother. May the blessings of the Wings of Fate shine on you my granddaughter. Take care."

The world shimmered as my ancestors faded to black. I was shoved back to current time and Emperor was screaming at me.

"Obey! You will destroy them! Kill them! Kill them now!"

"Shut up!" I roared, energy pulsing from my body. He took an instinctive step back as I drew up to my full height.

"I am Kailiana de Destingaard, last princess of the Destingaard line. I hold the power of the Wings of Fate and will not tolerate your evil ways, Emperor. You killed my mother, my family, destroyed my kingdom, and laid havoc to everything around you. Your followers destroyed the people here and tried to kill my friends. For this, you must all be punished."

I extended my hand and blue energy wrapped around the ten warriors of darkness, holding them in place. I walked up to each one to give them their sentence.

"Garland, you wanted this power to break the unending cycle of battle. This is impossible. You are banished to a dimension with constant conflict and strife. You will fight till the end of days until your life has thoroughly left you." I waved my hand and sent him away.

"Emperor, you wanted this power to destroy all good and reshape the world. You will be sent to a place where good is prevalent and you are powerless to change it. You will be chained and your powers stripped. Your life will end in despair." I waved my hand and sent him away.

"Cloud of Darkness, you wanted this power not to enslave the world but destroy it. You will be sent to the void not of darkness but of light. You will suffocate from the intensity of the light and die with your eyes turned away from darkness." I waved my hand and sent her away.

"Exdeath, your wish was also to return this world to the void. You will suffer the fate of the Cloud of Darkness and you will do so stripped of your armor. It is time the real you was revealed to the light." I waved my hand and sent him away.

"Kefka, your wish was to return this world to the void. You will suffer the same punishment as those before you. You will be forced to stand still for the rest of your life in the light. May your screams deter any more wickedness from others who follow you." I waved my hand and sent him away.

"Sephiroth, your wish was to use this power to regain your memory and torment Cloud by manipulating the dark in his heart. For this you will forget everything you have ever known and will ever know. You will be sent to the light to let it fill your heart." I waved my hand and sent him away.

"Ultimecia, your wish was to reshape the world with the Emperor. You will be stripped of your powers and suffer the same fate as he." I waved my hand and sent her away.

"Kuja, your wish was to cause Zidane pain and create loneliness in the world. You will know what it is like to love then have it all taken from you. This cycle will repeat until your heart is broken beyond repair." I waved my hand and sent him away.

I faced the only two who were left, Golbez and Jecht. Golbez was standing stock still and Jecht had that same arrogant look on his face.

"Where where you during the battle? I didn't see you fighting or helping us."

"I was keeping my son busy. One last fight between father and son, ya know?" Jecht said gruffly. I could tell that he thought I was going to banish him to torment just like I did the others.

"You helped me, Jecht. I'm not going to punish you for that. Go to Tidus and work things out. If that means one of you gets the crap beaten out of them, then that's that. If you need anything, please come and ask."

He looked at me in surprise. "I would thank you kid, but my ego doesn't allow it."

I waved him away and stepped up to Golbez. "You helped me too, you know."

"Yes, but I have never lived in the light. I don't think I ever will be able to."

"That may be, but you don't work for the dark either. You didn't fight this final battle or deter me from my path. Instead, you helped me greatly. I'm sure Cecil wouldn't mind talking to you. Go talk and stay out of trouble. If you need anything, just ask."

He bowed before turning to leave. "Thank you, Kai. You are truly generous."

I bowed my head in reply. I next turned to all the warriors who helped me along my journey. I bowed deeply to them. "Thank you all for helping me. I am deeply grateful and cannot pay back this debt."

Warrior walked up and straightened me. "It is us who are grateful for being able to help."

"We will be here whenever you need us," Squall said.

"We will stay if that is what you wish," Cloud continued.

"We want to help you rebuild your kingdom," Terra said.

"And teach the people magic again," Onion Knight piped.

"We want wild flowers to grow," Firion smiled.

"And to teach the people how to fight," Cecil said.

"We want to bred and raise the best Chocobos," Bartz grinned.

"And free the people from any future tyranny," Zidane said.

"But most of all," Tidus continued.

"We want to stay by you," they all finished in unison.

By the end of their speech I was in tears. Not small graceful tears, but giant, sobbing, pierce your lungs with your ribs tears. They all gathered around me as my wings faded back into tattoo form and I received hugs from everyone. Cecil and Tidus broke off to talk to their family and I collapsed to the ground in joy. My last thoughts were of how great my life turned out before the darkness of exhaustion took me. This time, I was not afraid of what may happen. I had my friends to count on.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

I heard the tune of two song sparrows as I swiftly walked down the halls of Destingaard Castle. I paused at the sound and looked for where it could be coming from. Lightly jogging to the balcony, I spotted the two fluffy brown birds singing to each other on the railing of the balcony. They tweeted a few times before flying off. I smiled and looked across the expanse of my kingdom. It has been six months since I unlocked the power of the wings and took control of my kingdom. It was the height of summer and everything was in full bloom. With the power restored to Destingaard, the recently planted crops and irrigated fields have flourished under tender care. Seeds of wild flowers were brought in and they now bloomed in glory as the sun shined on their petals. The most prominent flower across the valley was the wild rose; a gift from Firion. The ever-blooming rose he gave me sat in an elegant glass vase near my bed.

I looked to the newly build houses that surrounded the castle. The day after I awoke from my exhausted sleep I went into the village to survey the area. I was hailed as a princess and hero. Everyone wanted to talk with me, to bow at my feet, and to serve me in any way possible. My first decree was to rebuild the flimsy houses of the village. With the help of my ten warriors and all the villagers, we tore down the rotten wooden houses and rebuilt with strong timber and stone. We created a plumbing system beneath the village and used the river as an energy source. It's amazing how much work you can get done when the entire village, and many people from neighboring ones, works together. This kingdom never had electricity and I haven't planned to update either. The true joy and power of this kingdom come from the harmony we have with nature and I am not going to disrupt that.

With increased prosperity and circulation of information, all the kingdoms around mine have heard of the return of the wings. Merchants, artisans, musicians, and many more have traveled here and lined the streets with small shops and carts. The servants and cooks of the castle regained their spirits and have cleaned and improved the castle. Once dull gold and dirt caked mirrors now shine as I pass. Parties and festivals are hosted in the great hall and the general spirit of the people has returned. I sighed in content as I watched birds dash around in the sky. I haven't once had to extend my wings since that battle months ago and I won't if I don't have to. These people need a leader and I intend to do just that.

Just then, I heard the unmistakable voice of my steward as he called to me. "Princess Kailiana, you must return to your chambers and dress appropriately for this afternoon's festivities!"

"Aidric, how many times must I tell you? Please do not use my formal title unless we are in front of guests. Is it really so hard to use my nickname?"

"Princess! That would be unseemly! I must use a respectful title towards you at all times."

"Then use some other respectful title. Princess Kailiana sets my teeth on edge."

"My lady, your ladies-in-waiting are ready to dress you for tonight's occasion. Please return to your dressing rooms."

"Thank you, Aidric, for informing me with such important news. I will see to it immediately." I swept past him and whisked myself down the hall toward my bed chambers. I smiled as I heard him muttering about how ladies should not wear breeches; especially the future queen of Destingaard. I may be the future queen, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the simple pleasures, like pants. I rounded the corner as something whizzed past my head and bounced off the wall. I bent down and picked up Tidus's blitzball.

"Tidus!" I yelled, watching him run down the hall towards me. "Third time! You are trying to kill me!"

He laughed and stopped right in front of me. "Sorry. At least your reflexes are getting better."

"If this is some sort of weird training, I want no part of it." I slammed the ball into his chest and walked off in a huff.

He laughed again and followed me. I quickened my pace but he ran to match me. Clenching my fist, I whirled around and punched him in the stomach. He groaned a bit but laughed it off.

"I thought those wings were supposed to make you stronger."

"Shut up," I yelled. I felt like steam was going to pour out of my ears.

"Oh, come on. This day should make you happy!" He picked me up from behind and twirled me around like a little kid. I laughed involuntarily and completely forgot to be mad. After putting me down, that very thought entered my mind.

"Hey! You did that on purpose!"

"It worked, didn't it?"

I grinned in return as Zidane rounded the corner.

"Are the two love birds having fun?" He joked.

"Jealous much?" I responded.

"Completely."

I bent down slightly and gave him a hug. I wonder if he ever got short man's complex. His tail snaked around his body and began to tickle me. I giggled and pushed it away.

"You always did know how to charm the ladies," I said.

"What about me?" Tidus asked, leaning on my shoulder.

"It's not like you could even get a woman," Zidane replied.

"Hey! I'll have you know that the women fawned over me back home. I'm the blitzball champion of the Zanarkand Abes!"

"Well, great champion of the Zanarkand Abes, I unfortunately have to go get dressed before Aidric finds and chastises me again. Man, that guy can lecture," I said, slipping out from under Tidus's weight. He gave me a push forward and ran off down the hall after Zidane who stole his ball and was taunting him.

I strode down a few more halls before turning a corner and crashing right into Bartz. "Oops. Sorry. Didn't see you there."

"Kai! Thank goodness I found you. There's a slight problem down in the chocobo stables," he replied, helping me to my feet.

"How slight is the problem?"

"You'll see."

I never liked that phrase. It usually ends in some massive problem that takes forever to fix. The last time I heard the term 'slight problem' I found out that Tré crushed my guitar the night before a gig. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

"All right. Show me the slight problem."

He grinned and we dashed through the halls of the castle and down to the main floor much to the dismay of the servants we almost knocked down. The only thing that saved us a tongue lashing was the fact that I was the ruler of the kingdom. A slight perk I must admit. I called a greeting to the porter who let us into the courtyard without a fuss. We circled around the castle and slowed to a walk when we reached the stables. Even the place where the animals were kept was royally decked out. The wood was solid oak with inlaid gold and bronze. Cobblestones covered the floor instead of black dirt and each Chocobo had its own pen. We sped walked down the rows of clucking chocobos and out the back into the small adjacent grazing and training area. In the middle of the grass clustered at least a dozen of the stable hands. Three were each holding a boy down on the ground. Marshal Gavin rushed over and gave a hurried bow.

"Highness! These three boys were caught releasing chocobos from the royal stable! I have sent out my men to recover the five chocobos they released. So far we have only recovered two. I request an immediate punishment of death. Will you permit my request?"

"Have you listened to the story of the three boys yet?"

"No, Highness. It was quite obvious what they were doing."

"The thing about the obvious is it is not always obvious. I will deal with this matter."

"But Highness! I do not wish to take up any more of your time than I already have."

"Nonsense."

I swiftly walked to the three boys pinned to the ground. I motioned to the stablemen who pulled them to their knees. They pushed the boys in a rough bow and I waved them off.

"I heard that you released chocobos from the royal stable. Is this true?"

The boy in the middle looked up to me with pleading eyes. "We meant no harm Princess Kailiana. We simply wanted to let some of the chocobos graze, but the gate to the grazing pen was open and they bolted."

"It wasn't on purpose!" The boy to the left cried. "Please don't kill us!"

The boy to the right said nothing and sobbed instead. They all looked very pitiful.

"Was anyone around when these boys released the chocobos from their pens? Did anyone authorize this?" I yelled.

"Ma'am," a senior stableman called. "I did authorize the grazing of some of the chocobos. I did not, however, allow them out of the grazing pen!"

"You claim that the back gate was open without your knowledge?" I asked the boys.

They nodded and looked down.

"All right, then. I see no reason to have these young boys killed simply for one small error. No whipping, no lashing, and no severe punishment. Have them work extra for causing trouble, but remember that is was an honest mistake. Now, let them up and get me my chocobo. We have birds to rangle!"

Marshal Gavin turned to his stablemen and shouted orders. "Let it be known that the princess is of kind heart and forgiving mind! But I must insist that you do not trouble yourself with these mundane problems. Let us take care of business."

"Nonsense, Gavin. Two people are better than one and I still have time before tonight. Bartz and I will assist in the capture of the chocobos."

Bartz and I high fived as my favorite golden chocobo, Sunshine, was led to me already saddled. Yes, I know Sunshine is a girly name, but she really is that sweet. Sunshine nuzzled me affectionately before I jumped on her back and grabbed the reigns.

I rolled my eyes as I saw the Marshal's shocked expression. "And don't give me the lecture about riding side-saddle, Gavin. I am perfectly aware that in ceremonious processions I must act more lady-like. Now, let's move out!"

Everyone on their chocobos followed me as Sunshine and I dashed through the open gate to the fields beyond. I signaled the large party of riders to split up into smaller sections of three or four riders. On my command, Bartz and Gavin followed me due north. We only rode for a couple of minutes before spotting two golden chocobos with the crest of the kingdom, a pair of outstretched wings encircled with roses, branded onto their left thighs. They were contently grazing in the thick grass. I put up my hand and we stopped about 100 feet from the golden birds.

"All right guys. Any suggestions for catching these birds?" I asked.

"If we could get close enough to hold their necks, then I could make a make-shift harness from some rope I brought," Bartz suggested.

Gavin scoffed at the idea. "Great plan. How exactly do you plan on getting close enough to the chocobos to get a harness on?"

"Gavin, don't be rude to my guest. You may be Marshal now, but you can easily be replaced," I scolded with a glare.

He blush a bit and looked away, but I knew he was mad at my comment. He just didn't have the guts to say that to my face. I sighed in spite of myself. I must work on these guys and their work ethic. Some of the workers around the castle would have to be replaced with more competent people.

"Anyway," I continued, "just trust me on this. I can get close enough."

I jumped down from Sunshine's back and gave her beak and affectionate rub before slowly walking across the grass up to the chocobos. They raised their heads in question, but didn't seem concerned at my presence. I crept forward and gently outstretched my hand. The first chocobo nuzzled it briefly and the second followed suit. I waved Bartz over as I scratched their feathers and talked to them softly. When Bartz got to me, he had already fashioned two harnesses and slipped them over the heads of the rouge chocobos. We bumped fists in success and walked back to our own chocobos. We tied the other two to our saddles and trotted off towards the castle. Along the way, I wondered if Bartz was interested in staying with me to become my Master of Stables. This guy had a freaky way with chocobos. They just flocked to him.

"Kai. Kaiiii. Hey!"

I jerked at the sudden shout and looked around. "Wha? What's going on?"

Bartz smiled and opened the gate to the stables for me. "Stop spacing out. You have work to do, don't you?"

"All work and no play makes Kai a dull girl," I replied, hopping down from Sunshine and handing the reigns to Bartz.

"All play and no work a queen does not make."

"This is a sad day indeed when you start lecturing me on my duties."

Bartz laughed and shoved me towards the castle. "Go get um Kai."

"You got it."

I ran off towards the castle and waved to the people I passed. Being sociable and personal to everyone in the village seemed to make me popular. I ran through the front door and almost knocked over Aidric.

"Your Highness! Why are you still in your breeches? Why aren't you dressed properly?!"

"Sorry Aidric. I…uh…"

"She was helping some of the villagers. There was a small dispute," Firion said, walking up and placing his hands on my shoulders. I looked up in surprise at his blatant lie and spotted Cecil on his left.

"She handled it admirably," Cecil finished.

"Is that so," Aidric said suspiciously.

"Of course," I replied, putting my hands on my hips. "You doubt me?"

"Of course not Highness. But please, could you get ready?"

"Sure thing." I grabbed Firion and Cecil's hand and pulled them along with me on my way to my dressing rooms. As we rounded the corner, I let go of their hands and faced them with arched eyebrows.

"I thought lying was against your moral code or something," I said.

"Not when you don't deserve a lecture," Cecil said.

"How do you know I didn't deserve one?"

"We saw you and Bartz round up those chocobos," Firion inputted.

"Ahhh, I see. Thanks for getting me out of trouble."

"Of course, my lady," Firion said with a bow.

"Don't you dare do that," I growled. "I hate it when people do that."

"Everyone in the castle and village bows when you pass by," Cecil commented.

"But not you guys. As far as I'm concerned, I should be bowing to you."

"And why's that?"

"You saw me at a pretty low point in my life. You helped lift me out of my slump and for that I should prostrate myself at your feet. Want me to do it?"

"I think we'll pass," Firion responded with a laugh. "But you really should get ready. The time is soon approaching."

"Ugh. Don't remind me."

Cecil gave me a push and I grudgingly tromped down the hall. While ascending the second flight of stairs, something sharp poked me in the back of the knee.

"Aagh," I squeaked, swatting at the object and whipping around to locate the problem. Onion Knight stood at the bottom of the stairs laughing at me. "You little vegetable! Come here so I can kick your little butt!"

"I'd like to see you try," he responded, climbing the stairs and hopping onto the second floor. I lunged up and tried to grab him but he jumped back with a laugh.

"Nice try, Wings."

"I see Zidane's nickname for me stuck," I said, crawling to the top of the stairs and squatting a few feet from Onion Knight. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance.

"Could be worse," he said with a shrug.

"What? Like your name?"

"That's cold, Wings."

I sighed and stood up while slicing the air with my hand and casting an aero spell. The sudden wind knocked Onion Knight off his feet and he crashed to the ground with a grunt. I walked over to him and poked him in the small of his back. He squeaked a bit and jumped to his feet.

"Now we're even, shrimp," I smirked.

"You're getting better at wielding magic," he replied.

"Thanks to you I must concede. You may be a kid, but you sure know what you're doing."

"I'll take that as a compliment, and you're welcome."

We smiled briefly at each other before he ordered me to my dressing rooms. I stuck my tongue out at him (how mature of me) and flitted down the halls humming a tuneless song. This was rare for Onion Knight and me to talk with any sort of sophistication. We usually ended fighting every time we talked. I think we bring out the worst in each other for some reason. Maybe it was because we are too alike. My brief mental musing ceased as soon as I reached a giant dark wooden door with ornate carvings of flora and fauna etched into the wood. I pulled on the worn brass handle and entered my dressing chambers. Inside, three ladies in graceful dresses curtsied at my arrival.

"Your highness," one of them said. "It is lovely to see you. Are you ready to dress for this evening?"

I put my hands on my hips and smiled. "Yes, ladies, I believe I am. If you would kindly leave that dress on the bed, I will put it on myself. Thank you."

All three gasped at my statement. "But you must let us help you dress! It is proper!"

"Perhaps how you grew up it was. However, it is quite embarrassing for me to be dressed by others. If you would, please." I motioned for them to leave the room and they did so quite grudgingly. I sighed and walked over to the bed. The dress was bright red silk with blue and gold accents. The neckline cut off above the cleavage, the sleeves landed at the wrist, and the skirts fell to touch the ground. This dress was, thankfully, relatively close fitting. The one they were trying to get me to wear before had at least two under layers, many layers of poof, and a large neck ruffle. I looked like an overstuffed queen doll. I had all those dresses sent to the vaults and more suitable dresses made. I suppose I got my inspiration from the elves in Lord of the Rings, since that is the style many of my dresses had. I pulled off my dark breeches and soft, white tunic and stepped into the formal dress. I slipped my arms through the sleeves and brought the dress into a nice position on my body. It wasn't until I twisted my head and looked at my back that I forgot the stupid thing laced up instead of zipped up. I really couldn't do this by myself. Sighing in frustration, I contemplated whether to summon my ladies-in-waiting back or to try lacing it myself when there was a knock on the door and someone entered. I looked past the screen I was dressing behind to see Terra waiting patiently by the door.

"Terra!" I exclaimed, grinning at her. "Could you help me with this dress? I forgot it laced up the back."

"Of course," she replied, walking over and lacing me up. I fiddled with my neckline and sleeves until she had me cinched up and looking quite elegant.

"I'm glad I opted for the less poufy dress. This one isn't bad."

"Especially when you wear it with your ceremonial jeweled cape," she said, bringing the cape over to me. She wrapped it over my shoulders and pinned it with a large diamond brooch. The cape was woven gold with diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and many other precious gems. This was one of the crowning pieces of clothing that we found in the deeply locked vaults. The place was so hidden it escaped the ravaging of the kingdom eighteen years ago. I must admit it looked wonderful.

"You look very elegant, Kai," Terra said beaming.

I smiled back and ran my fingers through my hair. It had grown out, since my last hair cut was six months ago and now sat just above my shoulders. I really need to get it cut again but never found the time to do so. Terra followed me over to my vanity and watched as I brushed out my cinnamon brown hair. We didn't talk much, but we never really needed to. We did the silent sisterly bonding thing. After a few minutes, Terra excused herself from my room claiming that she had to help with preparations and told me that she would see me later. I waved her goodbye and debated whether or not to tie my hair back or keep it down. A knock at my door interrupted my thoughts.

"Enter," I called, twisting away a piece of hair that kept landing in my eye. I looked in the mirror to see Cloud enter the room. Standing up, I twirled around and ran to meet him.

"What brings you here?" I asked.

"Aidric asked me to see if you were ready and escort you to the hall."

"Yeah, I'm ready. Just let me get my shoes on…now which pair was I supposed to wear again?" I walked over to my wardrobe and opened the bottom cabinet to a massive array of shoes. The previous occupant of this room must really have loved clothing. I squatted down and selected a pair of red flats that matched the color of my dress. I set them on the ground and proceeded to lift my skirts and fall over. I was standing on the hem of my dress and didn't even know it. Cloud lunged across the room and caught me before I landed on the ground. He practically picked me up and set me into my shoes. I blinked a few times in surprise and turned a light shade of pink.

"That was embarrassing," I sighed, wiggling my shoes into position and fiddling with a lock of my hair. Cloud smiled, wrapped his arm around mine, and escorted me down the hall.

"I didn't know putting on shoes was so dangerous," he remarked with a slight smile.

"Heh, neither did I. I think this is why I hate dresses."

"You do look nice, though."

I blushed a darker shade of pink and looked away. "Yeah, right. I just want this to be over with."

He chuckled as we walked down the stairs. Squall was waiting for us at the bottom. He slipped his arm through my free one and we walked down the back hallways to the Great Hall.

"You ready for this, Kai?" Squall asked.

"Doesn't matter. It's going to happen whether I'm ready or not."

"Do you want to become the ruler of Destingaard?"

"No. I wasn't raised to be the ruler of a kingdom. I don't really want the responsibility."

"Those who don't want power are best suited for wielding it," Cloud responded.

I sighed lightly and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose. Still doesn't mean I want it, though."

"Good answer for someone so young," Squall said.

We rounded a corner and stood before a very large wooden door inlayed with various precious metals and gems. Cloud and Squall bid me farewell before walking away and entering the hall through a side door. I stood before the doors of the Great Hall fidgeting and looking around. Would anyone see me if I left now? I just worked up the nerve to leave the doors and head back to my room when Warrior walked up behind me and blocked my escape. He was looking rather spiffy in his newly polished armor and his cape was freshly pressed. He walked pretty quietly for having all that armor on.

"There is no need to worry, Kai. You will make a fine ruler," he commented.

"I only have three things to say to you right now. One, I am very glad you dropped the whole princess thing and call me by my name. Two, you are freaky when you read my mind like that. Three, how would you know that I will do well? I get scolded left and right by how my actions and dress are not suitable. What if my ruling is the same?"

"It won't be."

"But how do you _know_ that? Whatever, I'm going back to my room."

"Hold it," he said, grabbing my arm and walking to the doors. "I've never seen you so worried or act so cowardly before."

"Cowardly?" I yelled, glaring at him. "It's not cowardly to worry about doing a terrible job!"

"No, it's not. But running away is."

I averted my gaze and stared at the floor. How dare he be right. I ripped my arm from his grasp and turned towards the doors. I'll show his cowardly.

"Open them," I growled, shooting Warrior a defiant look.

He gave me a little smirk and opened the doors wide. Inside, the Great Hall was packed to bursting with over half the village in attendance. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes and they were all beaming at me. I put on a neutral look and strode down the hall with Warrior close behind. Halfway to the throne at the head of the hall, I noticed that all the guys were lined up beside the throne. Each was holding their weapons before them and the range of expression was from quietly neutral to overenthusiastically smiling. I ascended the few steps to the throne and turned towards each of my friends giving them a look of pure joy. I was so glad I talked Aidric into letting them be up here with me instead of in the crowd. They deserved more of the credit of restoring the kingdom than I did. The Chaplain, decked out in white and gold robes and wearing one of those ridiculously tall hats, stepped up and looked me over from head to toe. I knelt on one knee before him and wondered if he disapproved of anything. I narrowed my eyes in a silent threat before he smiled and addressed me.

"Princess Kailiana, you are the last remaining heir to the Destingaard throne and the wielder of the Wings of Fate. Do you swear to rule the kingdom with honor, compassion, and righteousness?"

"I will rule the Kingdom of Destingaard with the interest of the people at heart. I will restore this kingdom to the glory of its youth and it will flourish and prosper. To this I swear."

The Chaplain frowned momentarily at my improved answer and quickly nodded. He motioned to Warrior who walked over with the ruby red pillow carrying the crown and scepter. The crown was made of pure gold with various precious gems encrusted into it. The peaks of the crown were not too tall, thank goodness, and it was surprisingly elegant in its design. The scepter was about 3 feet long and made of gold with a point at the top. Surrounding the point was a pair of silver wings encrusted with aquamarine and amethyst gems. The Chaplain raised the crown and poised it above my head.

"By the power of Destingaard, I declare you Queen Kailiana." He slowly set the crown around my head and handed me the scepter. I rose and turned toward the crowed with a small grin. A cheer erupted and a chant slowly emerged through the noise.

"Long live the Queen. Long live the Queen. Long live the Queen."

Long live the Queen, indeed.

**I would like to give a warm thank you to all who have read my story and an extra thank you to those who reviewed it. For those who enjoyed this story and would like to read more of Kai, I am planning on writing a sequel so stay tuned! I wish you all happy reading.**

**~~Wolf of the Sun  
**


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